Now that Shari Redstone has scuttled the sale of Paramount, it is up to Brian Robbins, Chris McCarthy and George Cheeks to right the listing Hollywood ship.
To do so, they have a plan, which they presented to the Paramount board last week. It includes divesting assets including the studio lot in order to reduce the entertainment company’s crushing $14.6 billion debt, finding a streaming partner and cutting $500 million of costs in areas that include real estate and technology.
While the executives — all seasoned leaders from Paramount divisions — have stated internally and externally that they have remained focused on their strategy, the reality is that they did not have a proper mandate to execute until this week.