Entertainment giant Paramount (PARA) is engaging in some more cost-cutting ahead of what it hopes will be a merger with Skydance, and this time, the axe is hitting CBS Mornings. The morning news show is getting pulled out of its Times Square studio, and moving elsewhere. Investors were not pleased with this round of nickel-and-diming, and sent Paramount shares slipping fractionally in the closing minutes of Friday’s trading.
The reports noted that CBS Mornings—like a lot of linear television these days—has been taking it on the chin in terms of revenue. Ratings declines have not helped matters much, as people just are not watching these days. So, CBS Mornings will be hauling stakes from Times Square back to the West Side of Manhattan, reports note, where the news division’s broadcast operations are situated.
This is not the first move for CBS Mornings, either; CBS Mornings has been operating out of a facility on Broadway since clear back in 2021. CBS ultimately moved to the Times Square facility to keep pace with Comcast’s (CMCSA) NBC, which parked its Today show in Rockefeller Plaza. And with CBS Mornings in perennial third place behind the other two major networks, the ability to hold space in Times Square just kind of fell off.
Even Conservatives Are Bucking the Suit
Meanwhile, word about the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) probe targeting Paramount over its 60 Minutes interview with former vice president Kamala Harris is meeting with unexpected resistance from conservative groups.
Resistance emerged from Americans for Tax Reform, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, the Center for Individual Freedom, and several others called for an end to the probe. Each noted that, should there be an “adverse ruling” against Paramount, it would “…constitute regulatory overreach and advance precedent that can be weaponized by future FCCs.” The current FCC, meanwhile, rejected their advice.
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, six Holds and five Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 7.79% rally in its share price over the past year, the average PARA price target of $12.50 per share implies 5.35% upside potential.
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