Entertainment giant Paramount Global (PARA) has been part of a growing trend in media these days to put extra focus behind live sports. Not without reason, either; sporting events have a big audience, and pull a lot of interest from population segments with disposable income.
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The National Football League (NFL) has been working to find media partners for its NFL Media operations for some time now, and it may actually have found such a partner with Skydance Media, who recently bought and is merging with Paramount. The NFL is looking for some quick cash and NFL Media assets are up for sale, with Skydance and Paramount reportedly interested.
The NFL and Skydance / Paramount have worked together before, reports note; with Paramount’s CBS operations currently handling a lot of NFL content, the end result is a trusted source. However, the NFL actually owns equity in Skydance as well, and is co-producing some of its programs with Skydance as well. Thus, two known quantities coming together should make for a particularly attractive package for the NFL, and a potential big win for Paramount.
Attempting to Rally
Paramount has not always had the easiest, or smoothest, time adapting to the streaming era. It has a presence there with Paramount+, certainly, but it is almost an afterthought in the broader arena. Even big name draws like Star Trek and SpongeBob SquarePants have not been able to budge the needle much in Paramount’s direction. And with new concerns that, even after all this, the Skydance / Paramount deal may not go through in the end, it is just one more cause for concern.
Meanwhile, Paramount is out to patch up some of those concerns by bringing out new content on Paramount+. October will see several new movies arrive on the platform, including The Truman Show and the original release of The Wicker Man from 1973. Further, the last season of Star Trek: Lower Decks will get its premiere later this month, so October should be pretty big for Paramount+ subscribers.
Is Paramount Stock a Good Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on PARA stock based on four Buys, eight Holds and six Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 8.89% loss in its share price over the past year, the average PARA price target of $12.43 per share implies 18.78% upside potential.
