Paramount is working hard to cut costs ahead of a possible merger with Skydance or maybe some other bidder. Now, according to a report from Bloomberg, Paramount is looking to sell 12 TV stations. To do this, Paramount has hired an outside firm to explore the sale. Paramount’s independent stations could bring in between $500 million and $1 billion if sold.
These stations are expected to be independent stations owned by Paramount, no CBS-affiliated TV stations.
This comes as Deadline recently reported that Paramount is looking at selling some of its 13 non-CBS-affiliate TV stations. Local TV stations have been selling at very high prices recently, and it looks like Paramount will want to cash in.
Other assets for sale reportedly include BET, which Paramount has been trying to sell for a bit but has so far failed to find an offer at a price it’s willing to accept.
The other big possible sale include the studio’s back lot where it creates its programs. It’s reported that Paramount is hoping to sell the lots only to rent them back with the option to rebuy them. The sale could bring in $2 billion in revenue that the company can use to help grow as it faces cord cutting and a weak ad market.