Why Won’t Shari Redstone Sell Showtime?

Paramount Global chairwoman Shari Redstone and C.E.O. Bob Bakish in 2017.
Paramount Global chairwoman Shari Redstone and C.E.O. Bob Bakish in 2017. Photo: Todd Williamson/Getty Images
Matthew Belloni
March 6, 2023

Is Paramount’s potential deal to sell Showtime really dead? Not if you talk to a wistful corner of the media investor community, which readily perked up when the Journal reported last week that Paramount Global owner Shari Redstone had rebuffed several offers for Showtime—including a recent $3 billion-plus bid from former top executive David Nevins and the private equity group General Atlantic. To many, that’s a no-brainer deal for a struggling unit of a company that’s worth only $15 billion in total and is facing a cratering cable television business. I’m told that a couple decent-sized Paramount shareholders have let management know that they think offloading Showtime at that price makes perfect sense. Paramount declined to comment.