Good news for YouTube TV subscribers; your recently-price-hiked service is not about to be worth a whole lot less. Media giant Paramount (PARA) and YouTube TV have set up a new long-term deal that will not only ensure college basketball through March, but Paramount channels available into the spring and beyond. Investors collectively shrugged, and Paramount shares slipped fractionally in the closing minutes of Tuesday’s trading.
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For a while, Paramount channels would no longer have been seen on YouTube TV, a move that would have been a particularly bitter pill to swallow after YouTube TV just hiked its prices only a few weeks prior. But a temporary agreement bridged the gap, and now, the agreement has gone from short-term to long-term, and left subscribers back on track.
Further, this deal will help make sure that such a problem does not take place again, and for some time to come. The new deal is described as a “multi-year agreement,” and on that also “…features an expanded streaming relationship, with the ongoing inclusion of Paramount+ with Showtime and BET+ among YouTube Primetime Channels….” That might have been part of the issue, especially if Paramount ditches its linear channels in the same way others have done or are considering.
New Suits For Old
But Paramount has another problem on its hands. While it is currently facing a controversial decision to potentially settle the $20 billion Trump lawsuit against CBS, it may soon be on the horns of a dilemma. Paramount executives are starting to question if they might actually be sued for settling the suit with Trump to begin with.
The reports note that settling the suit with Trump now, before the Skydance merger can go through, might “…expose directors and officers to liability in potential future shareholder litigation….” Worse yet, there might even be criminal charges connected with such a move, which could be considered “bribing a public official.” And just to top it off…some of those cases might not come under “director and officer insurance,” leaving Paramount on the hook.
Is Paramount Stock a Good Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on PARA stock based on two Buys, one Hold and three Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 3.88% loss in its share price over the past year, the average PARA price target of $12 per share implies 6.19% upside potential.
