• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, 9 hours ago

Paramount Skydance completed its first meeting with TV advertisers in Los Angeles, leaning on some high-profile successful content -- the NFL and big prime-time services that are also shared with its streamer Paramount+.

But is that enough to keep advertisers jazzed for the future? That may come down to where pricing rises -- the venerable CPMs, the cost-per-thousand viewer price tags -- during the upfront advertising market that will soon begin.

This was first pre-upfront market meeting since Skydance Media closed its initial big deal to buy Paramount Global in August 2025.

While Paramount feels it is the victor in the battle with Netflix over Warner Bros. Discovery, perhaps a more grounded approach should be taken.

A Paramount-WBD combo would seem to carry more clout with advertisers starting later this year if the deal is completed by the fall.

Other long-term factors may come into play.

For one, Paramount TV and movie production spend actually dropped 7% in the first quarter to $700,000 -- all while Netflix, by comparison, grew production spend by 20% to $1.6 billion, according to ProdPro, a TV-movie production industry publication. This has been a consistent trend for the big streaming competitor for some time.

Paramount's meeting on its Los Angeles lot with advertisers was heavily focused on a number of Taylor Sheridan-produced series such as the success of “Landman” and its new series “The Madison.”

Paramount executives expressed the need to expand its programming efforts against different audiences.

This comes as actors, performers and behind-the-camera creative professionals -- now totaling more than 3,000 -- are putting pressure on the company and regulators because of its proposed merger with WBD, which has yet to be finalized by federal regulators.

Those industry professionals worry about the cut in TV and movie content production spending going forward -- as well as what will soon be major control of two legendary Hollywood studios under one roof.

No doubt Paramount will be continuing to seek massive "synergies" -- major expense savings -- going forward, all the while looking to find revenue gains from all corners of its entertainment offerings.

Does this also mean higher price levels from longtime brand advertisers later this year -- not with this year’s coming upfront marketplace, but in future advertising activity?