Paramount Reportedly Set to Replace CEO Bob Bakish
April 29, 2024
Paramount Global is reportedly replacing its CEO Bob Bakish with a group of senior executives. The possible leadership change comes as the media company that includes Paramount Pictures, Paramount+ and CBS is in negotiations with Santa Monica, Calif.-based Skydance Media about a possible merger.
The leadership change, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, could come sometime today (April 29), as Shari Redstone, controlling shareholder of Paramount Global, along with its board, looks to replace Bakish with an “Office of the CEO” comprised of different executives.
Bakish became CEO of Redstone-controlled Viacom in 2016, and then CEO over Les Moonves in 2019 when Redstone re-merged Viacom with subsidiary CBS Corp. ViacomCBS then became Paramount Global in 2022 when it began focusing on the Paramount+ streaming platform.
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Redstone and members of the board have reportedly questioned Bakish’s recent leadership, which included Paramount Global posting a 2023 fiscal loss of $608 million, including a $1.6 billion loss in the direct-to-consumer business segment that revolves around the Paramount+ streaming service.
But Bakish’s biggest sin could be the company share price, which has plummeted from $51.28 per share on April 29, 2019, to $12.40 today. Paramount’s market cap has fallen from $25.3 billion to $8.56 billion.