Paramount Skydance Corp (NASDAQ: PSKY) surged more than 20% on August 13 after CNBC's Jim Cramer unexpectedly labeled the newly merged media giant a “meme stock.”
Paramount Skydance: This Is A TKO, Alright
Shares of TKO Group (TKO) surged over 7% Monday morning after when the owner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) franchise and Paramount Skydance (PSKY) agreed to make the media giant the exclusive home of the UFC.
Paramount Skydance signs a $7.7 billion deal for UFC broadcast rights, in the first big move by its new CEO.
Paramount has acquired the U.S. rights to TKO Group's UFC for $7.7 billion over seven years, beginning in 2026. The agreement is for all 43 annual UFC live events, which will be exclusively streamed in the U.S. on Paramount+.
Under the seven-year deal, UFC fights will be streamed on Paramount+ and select bouts will be simulcast on CBS.
Chairman and CEO Albert Behler told analysts that one of the company's prime Midtown assets, 1301 Sixth Ave., welcomed investment bank Piper Sandler, which signed for 140,000 square feet.
Paramount's new chairman and chief executive, David Ellison, outlined a plan to transform the century-old entertainment company into a technology-driven media enterprise in an open letter marking the completion of the merger with Skydance Media.
The new Paramount has laid out the employment contracts for its executive team led by chairman-CEO David Ellison and President Jeff Shell. Both are starting today as the Skydance-Paramount merger closes with five year contracts that carry an annual base salary of $3.5 million, a target bonus of $1.
Skydance Media has closed their deal to purchase Paramount for $8 billion, CEO David Ellison announced Thursday—capping off a tumultuous bid to win regulatory approval and two weeks after the FCC finally greenlit the deal announced in July 2024.
They are the two largest U.S. companies not in the index, but have been overlooked for inclusion recently.
PARA tops Q2 earnings estimates with strong DTC growth, rising revenues, and blockbuster box office returns.