Paramount Considering Selling Indie Stations

Paramount Global is moving ahead with asset disposals to raise cash, people familiar with the matter said, amid the ongoing takeover saga involving the media company.

Bloomberg reports the CBS parent has hired a bank to help it explore options, including a potential sale of a dozen TV stations that it considers non-core, the people said. These include independent stations in markets including New York, Philadelphia, Dallas and Tampa, some of which used to be CW affiliates, one of the people said.

The stations could fetch $500 million to $1 billion in a sale and are expected to draw interest from private equity firms and other broadcasters, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information.

Deliberations are at a preliminary stage and any deal could still be several months away, according to the people. Potential buyers may be better positioned after the US presidential election in November, when the outlook on the regulatory environment is expected to be more clear.

Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. sold majority ownership of the CW Network to Nexstar Media Group Inc. in 2022. The sellers each retained 12.5% of the business. Owning the underlying stations comes with the ability to tailor programming to the local market.

Paramount’s own fate remains in limbo. The company’s chair, Shari Redstone, struck a deal in July to hand control of the storied Hollywood studio to producer David Ellison, who plans to combine it with his Skydance Media. But this month, Seagram Co. heir Edgar Bronfman Jr. made a rival offer to take control of Paramount, potentially upsetting the company’s previous deal.