Will the Paramount/CBS/Skydance Deal Survive Another Black Eye?

One would think that producers  of CBS News are aware that Shari Redstone is trying to sell her shares of Paramount, which owns CBS in its entirety, to Skydance for well over $6Bn USD. But maybe they did not get the memo to tread softly, considering that the deal is already under fire because of the 60 Minutes lawsuit involving Donald Trump.

 

So what did the producers of “CBS Sunday Morning” do? Why they only violated an agreement they made with Bill Belichick, which had been conveyed by Simon & Schuster, by asking him questions which did not involve his book, The Art of Winning – Lessons from My Life in Football.

Instead, the North Carolina head coach released a statement Wednesday bashing “CBS Sunday Morning” for “selective editing” from his controversial interview that featured Jordon Hudson interrupting the interview to say her 73-year-old boyfriend would not answer a question about the two met.

The CBS interview clearly touched on his relationship with Hudson, which had been deemed of limits.

“Unfortunately, the expectation was not honored during the interview,” Belichick said in the statement. “I was surprised when unrelated topics were introduced and I repeatedly expressed to the reporter, Tony Dokoupil, and the producers that I preferred to keep the conversation centered on the book.

“After this occurred several times, Jordon, with whom I share both a personal and professional relationship, stepped in to reiterate that point to help refocus the discussion. She was not deflecting any specific question or topic but simply doing her job to ensure the interview stayed on track. Some of the clips make it appear as though were were avoiding the question of how we met, but we have been open about the fact that Jordon and I met on a flight to Palm Beach in 2021.

“The final eight-minute segment does not reflect the productive 35-minute conversation we had, which covered a wide range of topics related to my career. Instead, it presents edited clips and stills from just a few minutes of the interview to suggest a false narrative, that Jordon was attempting to control the conversation,  which is simply not true.”

The arrogance of the producers and the interviewer to try and produce a “gotcha” interview to belittle their guest is actually beyond the pale. It would not be surprising if Coach Belichick and the executives at Simon & Schuster filed a “breach of contract” lawsuit, furthering to complicate the already difficult sale.

And if the FCC looks at this closely, then there may be additional delays or even a kabash on the whole deal.

Then, Shari Redstone will show her anger by decapitating the producers and the interviewer who thought they knew better. Like former EP Bill Owens who claimed he dd it, “for the good of the show”.

And once again, CBS is left with another black eye.