Now that Paramount International has settled a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump towards “60 Minutes,” is there an opportunity the fog surrounding the corporate’s quest to promote itself to Skydance Media is about to elevate? To this point, it’s not fully clear — not even to executives at Paramount International.

The proprietor of CBS, Comedy Central and the Paramount film studio, which is managed by Shari Redstone, in Might expressed confidence that the Skydance acquisition was “nonetheless anticipated to shut within the first half of 2025.” Whereas that interval lapsed a few week in the past, Paramount has but to problem new steering about its expectations. The 2 events have already got agreements in place that might prolong the timeline of their merger settlement till October of this 12 months.

There are good causes for the corporate to consummate the deal. Paramount’s essential enterprise — broadcast and cable TV — is roiled. As Paramount remained caught ready for the Federal Communications Fee to approve its deal and dithered over whether or not to settle what authorized specialists consider was a flimsy authorized feint geared toward punishing CBS Information’ “60 Minutes” for broadcasting an interview with election opponent Kamala Harris, its operations have continued to ebb.

Income from TV promoting and distribution retains eroding. The corporate pulled round $4.5 billion in income from its conventional TV operations within the first quarter of this 12 months, down noticeably from the $4.97 billion it generated within the fourth quarter of 2024. Certainly, the final time Paramount obtained a 12 months over 12 months income increase from its TV enterprise got here when it broadcast Tremendous Bowl LVIII — and delivered only a 1% acquire over the year-earlier interval.

Even Tremendous Bowl success can’t wash a enterprise that’s washing away. Like its rivals, Paramount is grappling with a generational shift within the media sector, with a rising base of customers accustomed to streaming their favourite packages at moments of their very own selecting. Such dynamics decimate the cable mannequin, and Paramount, which has narrowed funding in lots of its cable shops for years, is feeling the squeeze greater than conventional rivals like Disney and Comcast, and positively in ways in which new opponents comparable to Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video usually are not.

Now, key Paramount gamers are taking themselves off the enjoying area. In June, Naveen Chopra, the Paramount CFO who has been driving herd on the corporate’s financials together with a trio of “co-CEOs,” introduced he was leaving. The explanation? An analogous place at Roblox. In March, CBS stated it was exiting the enterprise of placing authentic programming on within the 12:30 a.m. hour after the host of the late-night program “After Midnight,” Taylor Tomlinson, determined to pursue her personal comedy enterprise fairly than staying tied to this system. CBS’s plan: fill the hour largely with repeats of the syndicated program “Comics Unleashed.”

Different essential companions are elevating points. Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the 2 artistic figures behind the Comedy Central collection “South Park” — a signature Paramount TV collection — final week stated they consider the merger has spurred delays in followers attending to see their work. “‘This merger is a shit present and it’s fucking up ‘South Park,’” the duo stated in an announcement launched by way of social media simply hours after Paramount introduced a two-week delay within the debut of the collection’ subsequent season.

The consequences of the deal on CBS Information stay to be seen. In journalism circles, Paramount’s resolution to pay a $16 million settlement to President Trump, has tarnished “60 Minutes,” a long-running newsmagazine that’s seen as one of many mainstays of TV-news and which continues to generate sizable scores. In an period when advertisers are extra loath to sponsor information programming, citing polarized audiences and unfavorable headlines tied to politics and local weather change, Paramount’s resolution has undermined the present, and there can be extra eyes on it this fall when it debuts to see if producers are capable of preserve its excessive reportorial requirements.

Paramount’s future would appear to lie in its streaming operations. The U.S. operations of Paramount+ in Might had been “on observe” to show a revenue in 2025. However the streaming enterprise generates lower than half the income produced by Paramount’s conventional TV division. Skydance could need to look extra intently at these deteriorating operations because it determines when a merger shut could come to fruition.

The corporate’s solely concrete plans for Paramount, unveiled a 12 months in the past, referred to as for cuts of a minimum of $2 billion, a lot of that from its linear networks. Within the interim, Paramount’s TV fortunes look as if they’ve diminished, and time spent on the Trump lawsuit has bolstered little. No surprise Skydance hasn’t rushed to get this deal over the end line.