Return of the Jeffs: Zucker and Shell in talks with Paramount as ousted execs eye network TV return

Jeff and Jeff might soon be returning to network TV — Jeff Shell and Jeff Zucker, that is.

Both men — bounced from running NBCUniversal and CNN, respectively, over sex scandals — now find themselves at private equity firm RedBird Capital, which is behind Skydance Media’s ongoing machinations to take over Shari Redstone’s struggling Paramount entertainment empire.

If the deal works out in Skydance’s favor — and the firm has been the lead bidder for Paramount now for weeks, I am told — Shell and Zucker could once again be playing a big role in running some significant media assets, from Paramount studios to CBS, one of the world’s premier, albeit flagging, news organizations.

“There will clearly be a role for Shell if this happens,” is how one deal insider put it last week. Zucker is said to be in the mix as well.

Zucker and Shell have a few things in common, and it goes beyond now finding themselves at the same firm. Shell, you might recall, got bounced as CEO of NBCU last year after being accused by its parent Comcast of “inappropriate conduct” with a female reporter there. Since around the beginning of the year, he’s been quietly hanging his hat at RedBird as head of the firm’s sports and media group.

Zucker joined RedBird after he was ousted from CNN over failing to disclose a consensual relationship with his p.r. chief. He’s a firm partner, though I am told he is currently spending most of his time on a semi-side hustle as head of a joint venture with RedBird known as RedBird IMI. It makes his potential involvement in Paramount a little more complicated because he’s looking to buy some UK newspapers.

At the center of all this is the ailing Paramount, which has been shopping itself as its controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, sees her family’s fortune slipping away with the ongoing tumult in linear TV.

Lone survivors

Both Shell and Zucker were ousted from NBCU and CNN, respectively, for similar controversies. Getty Images

The sale talks, as most people in media know, have been going on for months, with various media entities looking under the hood of Paramount and most passing. Another potential bidder, media entrepreneur Byron Allen, says he has the money to do a deal, but people close to the talks are skeptical.

That means Skydance and RedBird might be the lone survivors of what was once described as a bidding war.

A little background on the duo and where the deal stands: Skydance is a production company owned by David Ellison, the son of Larry Ellison of Oracle fame. The old man has a net worth of around $140 billion and he is said to be a backer.

Zucker joined RedBird after he was ousted from CNN over failing to disclose a consensual relationship with his p.r. chief. REUTERS

So is RedBird, a media-focused private equity shop run by Gerry Cardinale. The former Goldman banker brings his own cachet; he is considered one of the top financiers in this line of work.

My sources say David Ellison is keenly interested in Paramount’s studios for obvious reasons; he’s a movie producer (his credits include “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Mission Impossible”). RedBird is eyeing a heavy hand in media properties like CBS, which is in both Shell and Zucker’s wheelhouse.

Seeking ‘$4 billion’

RedBird Capital is behind Skydance Media’s ongoing motives to take over Paramount Entertainment.  Getty Images

One problem: Shari Redstone wants a lot of money — at least $4 billion is the number I keep hearing — and for an asset that’s losing value by the day.

Also, this isn’t a conventional acquisition since the ownership structure of Paramount is anything but conventional. Shari, the daughter of the deceased media mogul Sumner Redstone, controls Paramount through her ownership stake in something known as National Amusements, a holding company created by pops.

Skydance/RedBird would be buying her stake in National Amusements and “backing into ownership” of Paramount’s assets, a source close to the deal tells me. Common shareholders might not directly benefit from the acquisition, and they’re some of the sharpest-elbowed investors you can find in Mario Gabelli and Warren Buffett. They will want their pound of flesh if this thing happens or they will sue, people close to the deal say.

Skydance/RedBird would be buying her stake in National Amusements and “backing into ownership” of Paramount’s assets. Annie Wermiel/NY Post

Skydance obviously has the dough, and bankers, of course, are good at buying and selling stuff. If Skydance/RedBird completes the deal, Cardinale will probably unload some of Paramount’s “melting ice cube” properties — stuff like MTV and Comedy Central where audience share has been eaten away by cord cutting.

But you need more than money and rainmakers to run a media company; you need operational types, and that’s why people in the media business keep talking up the role of Jeff and Jeff.