Commentary

New Head-Spinning Media Spinoff Math: Selling Network-Owned Stations?

by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, July 31, 2025

Now that the high-drama, pumped-up Paramount-CBS-Colbert story seems to have faded somewhat, the next wave of the story -- from a business perspective -- might be more ground-breaking.

Selling potentially network-owned TV stations -- for example, CBS-owned-and-operated outlets?

Sounds crazy. But consider that the fast-moving TV/streaming world continues its sometimes unpredictable path.

However, a couple of major things need to fall in place for this to happen -- for any TV network-owned TV station group.

For one, expect the all-hands-on-deck new chairman of the FCC Brendan Carr would need to lean toward removing long-time limits on station ownership -- where a single entity cannot own TV stations collectively exceeding 39% of U.S. television households.

“The FCC is expected to move forward with sweeping deregulation across the media and broadcast landscape... the CBS O&Os immediately become more valuable,” Daniel Kurnos, media analyst of Benchmark Equity Research, recently wrote.

Couple this with Paramount Global’s new owners -- Skydance Media, veteran TV and big movie producers (“Top Gun: Maverick,” “Mission Impossible,” “Reacher”) -- who are not necessarily wedded to core media company assets -- like TV stations.

For certain, Skydance wants to develop much more intellectual property, more TV and movies, as the streaming and digital world expands. They might presumably want to take on the role as an “arms dealer” (as media analysts have been calling this in recent years) for the future direction of legacy TV-based media companies around their core TV and movie production businesses.

And then throw into the mix more changes for major sports programming properties seeking more streaming and less linear TV networks.

Although it is in the middle of an 11-year-long deal, in two or three years the NFL would have an option to renegotiate some NFL packages (read that as even higher pricing) -- and move them to say, Netflix? CBS, as a network, may opt not to continue.

“With the specter of a looming NFL opt-out in 2029 the latest, with some in the sports world thinking 2028 or even 2027,” says Kurnos, “it is not hard to envision a scenario where the enterprise value of the TV media business is zero or negative -- even though there are some quality assets embedded within the division.” Some independent TV stations groups are already thinking network-affiliates might not have all that much growth potential.

Kurnos says selling CBS owned-and-operated stations could easily take care of paying off almost the entirety of the billions in debt Skydance has to shell out for the Paramount Global acquisition.

Imagine if this picks up some steam. All that would be good for Colbert’s opening monologue fodder on its last days of “The Late Show” in May 2026.

m&a, paramount, television, viacomcbs

3 comments about "New Head-Spinning Media Spinoff Math: Selling Network-Owned Stations?".

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Ed Papazian from Media Dynamics Inc, July 31, 2025 at 9:42 a.m.
Wayne even if the FCC dropped all limitations on TV station ownership, the quaetion remains who would buy the CBS--or NBC or ABC---stations?While these are still profitable operations, though not as much as ten years ago, the main reason is that the networks supply most of their content. But what happens to the CBS stations if the network abandons the 10-11PM time slot--and gives up on late night and cuts back on its long struggling early AM efforts?Won't that create a new and costly programming burden for the stations? How would they fill that time--by increasing their news content--already at the oversaturation point--or buying syndicated talk, game and other shows?

Let's face it, the long term prognosis for many TV stations is grim as there are too many of them to be viable. The stations were fine--well most of them--- when they competed for a daily 3-4 hours of viewing per consumer and there was no streaming, but now, they are effectively competing for 2.0-2,5 hours a day of viewing and much of that goes to their own netwoks, not local fare. That just doesn't compute. Too many mouths to feed. too little food.
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Joshua Chasin from KnotSimpler, July 31, 2025 at 4:19 p.m.

Another underlying issue in the value of broadcast television stations is that since the inception of TV, the primary busineess asset that gave a TV station value was a license to spectrum space, a scarce commoddity. In this day and age, the notion of using this spectrum space to get your TV show into my living room is archaic. TV stations didn't make money because they had good shows; they made money because they had the ONLY shows. Now almost no one needs broadcast spectrum space to watch "TV." And when the value of spectrum space approaches zero... what exactly is the differentiated asset a TV sstation offers?

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Note: Cable and satellite could have largely disintermediated broadcast TV, but must-carry and retransmission fees prevented that from happening.

Daniel Quintanilla from DANIEL PLUS LAUREN, July 31, 2025 at 5:50 p.m.

I have a better idea, sell off all the former CW stations that are now independents!!!

Also, sell off every cable asset you have!!!

Plus, sell off the syndicated unit of CBS MEDIA VENTURES!!!

The result... all debt will be paid off the acquire Paramount Global!!!!