Skydance CEO David Ellison -- and scandal-scarred media exec Jeff Shell -- signal $2B in cost cuts for Paramount

Skydance boss David Ellison and the scandal-scarred media exec Jeff Shell signaled they aim for a whopping $2 billion in cost cuts at Paramount Global following a merger approved by the media giant’s controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone.

Ellison — the son of tech tycoon Larry Ellison whose Hollywood production company is behind “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Mission: Impossible -Dead Reckoning” — said Monday that he sees room to slash expenses mostly at Paramount’s linear media operations.

That’s after a $500 million cost slashing plan was revealed last month by the co-CEOs of Paramount, which in addition to CBS and Paramount Pictures owns cable networks including Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, MTV and BET.

Ellison said he aims to prioritize creativity and soup up technology, including improving the search algorithms for its Paramount+ streaming service.

“Paramount needs to expand into a tech hybrid to meet the needs and demands of evolving marketplace,” Ellison said on the Monday call with investors.

Shares of Paramount fell 5.3% to $11.18 on news of the deal Monday.

“It’s a new Paramount. It’s not just a catchphrase,” chimed in Shell, the former NBCUniversal CEO who was ousted last year after admitting to an inappropriate relationship with former CNBC anchor Hadley Gamble, who was 16 years his junior.

Soon after the scandal, 58-year-old Shell joined RedBird Capital Partners, a backer of SkyDance in the Paramount deal. He is slated to grab the reins as president of Paramount when the deal closes in the third quarter of 2025. Ellison will become chairman and CEO.

Although Ellison did not elaborate on his future management, it is believed that Paramount will get another shakeup, leaving the future uncertain for the company’s co-CEO troika of George Cheeks, Brian Robbins and Chris McCarthy.

Some media watchers expect that RedBird IMI CEO Jeff Zucker and Skydance creative chief Dana Goldberg will all have leadership roles.

Earlier this year, The Post had speculated a return for both Shell and Zucker, the disgraced former CNN boss, who as ousted from the cable news network in 2022 after he did not disclose his relationship with another senior executive.

During the Monday call, Shell called 41-year-old Ellison the “perfect executive” as he gushed over his boss’ media and technology chops.

“You would literally spit out David Ellison” if you went into a lab to create an entertainment executive for the future of the business, Shell said of Ellison.

The exec said Ellison, who blends creativity and tech-savvy can “go to a table read” but he can also go into “the next room and code, too.”

“It’s been a long time since a creative executive ran one of the big companies,” he added.

A seemingly humble Ellison thanked Shell for the compliment, before casually mentioning he was mentored by his father’s close friend, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.

Ellison said he wants to get Paramount+, the company’s catch-all streaming service, to profitability, and will do so by amping up its creative output and “fixing” its search algorithm, calling the two-pronged approach “essential” to its future.

“We want to rebuild the direct-to-consumer platform,” he added.

The exec said he was exploring partnerships and licensing content for the money-losing Paramount+.

Shell also addressed the challenged cable business, which continues to lose subscribers as consumers are cutting the cord. In order to limit the bleeding from Paramount’s numerous networks, Shell said they found $2 billion in cost synergies.

“We know what we want to do,” he said, adding that CBS’ partnership with the NFL is a boon for the company that he hopes to capitalize on, as well as the network’s various franchises such as “NCIS,” “60 Minutes” and “Yellowstone.”

At the same time, the duo is not ruling out selling assets. Currently, Paramount is in exclusive talks to sell BET to BET CEO Scott Mills and CC Capital headed by Chinh Chu for $1.7 billion.

Skydance’s deal caps off the months long negotiation with media heiress Shari Redstone, whose late father Sumner Redstone built Paramount Global, formed by the merger of CBS and Viacom in 2019.

“In 1987, my father, Sumner Redstone, acquired Viacom and began assembling and growing the businesses today known as Paramount Global. He had a vision that ‘content was king’.”

She added: “We want to fortify Paramount for the future while ensuring that content remains king. Our hope is that the Skydance transaction will enable Paramount’s continued success in this rapidly changing environment. “

Paramount’s special committee agreed to the merger on Sunday, days after Shari Redstone’s National Amusements, the controlling shareholder of Paramount, reached a preliminary agreement with Skydance. A deal had weeks earlier been halted.

The latest version of the deal will see the buying consortium, which includes RedBird and KKR, invest more than $8 billion into Paramount and to acquire National Amusements. The deal gives National Amusements an enterprise value of $2.4 billion, which includes $1.75 billion in equity.

The merger is subject to regulatory approval. This also includes a 45-day “go-shop period,” in which the Paramount special committee can solicit other offers.

In recent weeks, other interested bidders have emerged, including media mogul Barry Diller.