Project Paramount - Rebuilding CBS and Paramount Pictures

I started this project largely because of hate towards the current ownership of Paramount as well as their lack of understanding of what they actually have on tap.

And it's a lot. 

As I mentioned from the start, I'm not going to rebuild the entire company. I actually rebuilt MTV back in September, and what I'm doing here isn't going to be as extreme as that. 

These are just small bullet points for the most vital units of Paramount, or at least the units that need the most help, and if I were in charge, these are the ones I'd focus on. 

And I obviously have to begin with the unit that's been most prominent in the news cycle largely because of its news division, the CBS television network.

While many consider broadcast television being on borrowed time, I feel CBS is the most important unit at Paramount because it reaches a wider audience than theatrical releases and streaming media. 

I also feel that CBS should have more of a place in streaming beyond the subscription-based Paramount+ and the free streaming platform Pluto TV. I also feel CBS’s streaming presence extend beyond news and sports. And yes, that streaming presence should be at no cost to consumers.

CBS has served as the nation’s most-watched broadcast network to a plurality of the general audience, but younger viewers won’t watch it unless it was something featuring performers and athletes they know. The current shift to conservative programming while alienating a majority of viewers in the process has done irreparable damage to the CBS brand as a whole that will take decades to repair, especially with marginalized groups and audiences who the network clearly and outwardly stated they don’t want to attract.

With that said, here's how I'd go about and try to repair the damage done to CBS. It's not going to be easy, but if I was running things, this is what I would do:

• Regain trust with affiliates and the audience. Every market is different. Not every market is hyper-partisan and political, and yet, CBS is currently running its news and broadcast units that way, and that’s not what CBS should be about. Affiliates have to deal with the backlash caused by the actions of the main network, even if they’re not directly responsible for them. The first thing I’d do if I was running Paramount is contact each affiliate group and each network affiliate directly and personally tell them that I’m trying to present CBS as a network centered on providing entertainment, sports, and news that reflects the country as a whole and not through biased corporately controlled eyes. I’ll also tell them that as network affiliates they know what’s best for the communities they server and should also create a public image that respects and values each region they’re a part of and serving as their eyes into the world. 
•  With that in mind, I’d use this opportunity to reestablish CBS News as independently run non-partisan division that respects its viewers and the viewers’ intelligence. It’d be a news organization ran by actual journalists who don’t parrot the opinions of the corporate leaders through partisan eyes. Publicly repudiate and apologize for the actions of the biased management in the media and especially on CBS Evening News and 60 Minutes. Earn the audience's trust because so much has been lost as a result of the actions of inexperienced management. CBS News would, once again be an outlet to present the world as it happens and tell it like it is, defiantly asking questions to those in power of any stripe, and present a perspective that acknowledges and respects not only Americans from every walk of life but also every citizen of the world who values equality, equity, inclusion, and diversity in opinion, culture, and lifestyle. 
• Fully shed CW assets. There’s no need to own CW anymore, not even a percentage. Sell it outright to Nexstar or a smaller company who could be a programming partner for the broadcast network. This also includes the CW Gold and CW Forever channels CBS operates across streaming platforms. The CW of old died the moment both Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery (which should do the same) sold a majority of their stakes to Nexstar for pennies. It’s not worth it to remain a part of the network’s ownership.
• Expand into streaming distribution with CBS Studios library outside of Paramount-owned streamers. Create CBS-branded channels for scripted programming, including one for comedy, drama, and classics with a curated schedule utilizing CBS Studios' library as well as shows provided by CBS's third-party partners. And by CBS-branded networks, I mean CBS, NOT Pluto TV. To alleviate the affiliate groups in on owned-and-operated markets, these CBS-branded channels would NOT cannibalize the national CBS broadcast network but supplement it just as the CBS Sports Channel and CBS News 24/7 does today. If anything, it’d add value to CBS‘s brand as a whole.

I’m not going to talk about what Paramount Pictures should do creatively because in the end, creativity shouldn’t be mandated by suits in C-Suites.  I feel that creators should have a playground to tell their own stories, share their own experiences, and create their own visions without the interference of studio executives and owners. Paramount, as should all film studios, should allow creators to create.  

That said, I feel that the theatrical experience, though diminished in recent years, is still important, and audiences do crave new stories. It would be ignorant of me not to understand the power of franchises, and I’d feel there’s a place for those as well. But original stories need just as much of a push as franchise films, if not more. After all, franchises were once original stories as well. Paramount IS the home of The Godfather, Top Gun, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and the original home of Indiana Jones.  Here’s what I’d do with Paramount Pictures:

• Create and commit to a year-long theatrical schedule (12 films minimum). I feel that theatrical films should be a priority for a film studio. Paramount should be no exception. Under my leadership, Paramount would release, at minimum, 12 films a year, whether it's under the Paramount Pictures banner, Miramax, or the smaller Republic Pictures brand. The "Studio of the Stars" should make a stand and prove itself that it's the best home of motion pictures.
• Have 4-5 tentpole theatrical films per year, including two core IP franchises and one of them being an animated film. And the animated films could be traditionally-drawn animation. 
• Produce more sub-US$75M films, including at least one based on a core IP franchise. Shrinking film budgets will help the corporate bottom line and stave off critics who feel movies with bloated budgets have to make billions to be considered worth making.
• Have a seven-week theatrical window before premium streaming/home media release. While other studios are shortening their release windows, keeping a seven-week theatrical window for Paramount, Miramax, and Republic releases would help struggling theater chains stay afloat as well as build goodwill with them, even creating more opportunities and potential “favored studio” status, especially if Paramount commits to a 12-film theatrical schedule. 
• Have Paramount and Miramax join the Movies Anywhere consortium. Paramount and MGM are the only major film studios that are not part of the Movies Anywhere consortium, a group that connects to multiple digital storefronts and allows movie purchases to be accessible across many devices including computers, cellphones, and streaming devices. NBC Universal, Disney, Sony, and Warner Bros are all a part of Movies Anywhere, and Paramount joining the consortium along with Miramax would create an even greater value to the fan-favorite service as well as show a unified belief in the retail sector, especially with physical media, a vital part of Movies Anywhere’s strategy.

Now we have the two biggest parts of Paramount reconstructed, I want to take a closer look at the small screen and rebuild one of the most diverse television libraries on the planet and a pioneering cable brand, but not the one you're thinking of.