Report: Shari Redstone Hits Pause Button On Media Partnership

Shari Redstone is hitting pause on any potential partnership talks between her media company ViacomCBS and NBC owner Comcast in hopes of lining up more suitors, The NY Post has learned. 

The billionaire heiress, who serves as chairman of ViacomCBS, has decided to hold off until next year before re-engaging in talks with Comcast’s Brian Roberts, according to two sources close to the situation. 

This includes any talks of a merger or a joint domestic venture where Comcast and ViacomCBS could combine their respective streaming services, Peacock and Paramount Plus, according to a source.

ViacomCBS’s directors had suggested to controlling shareholder Redstone that her business will likely attract multiple suitors if she waits to shop around, sources said. Redstone agreed with the board and the company is focusing on building out its business for the time being, these sources added.

It’s been widely reported that Comcast has been eyeing buying Viacom/CBS assets, which includes Nickelodeon and the Paramount Pictures movie studio, as industry consolidation heats up in an effort to compete for streaming subscribers.

Comcast’s Brian Roberts has downplayed the idea of a merger, both publicly and behind the scenes. Speaking on CNBC after Comcast’s earnings report in late July he said: “We don’t feel we need to do M&A.”

Shari Redstone

But sources say that this may be because Roberts knows that a deal between Comcast and ViacomCBS might be easier to get past regulators if Redstone’s media company could first sell CBS.

Federal Communications Commission rules prohibit broadcasters from owning two of the major four networks, in this case NBC and CBS.

One potential buyer of CBS is the media entity that will emerge next year from AT&T’s planned sale of its WarnerMedia unit, behind HBO, Warner Bros. and CNN, and Discovery, which operates TLC, HGTV and Animal Planet. 

ViacomCBS’ streaming service Paramount+ could bolster interest in an acquisition by suitors in the space.

But that new entity, to be run by Discovery CEO David Zaslav, cannot even think about any new deals until its own $43 billion merger is completed.

Other people close to Redstone, however, insist that she’s not interested in selling CBS to anyone and that the most logical suitors at the moment are private equity firms.

Another source suggested that Redstone could also find a suitor in the tech world where companies like Amazon and Apple are scrapping for TV shows and movies to fill their streaming services.