Tyler Perry is showing his support for the Hollywood studio marriage of David Ellison’s Skydance Media with Paramount Global. The reported $8 billion deal will see Ellison become chairman and CEO of a boosted Paramount while former NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell will serve as president. When asked on the red carpet at the New York premiere for his latest film “Divorce in the Black” if he had been talking to Paramount about the updates, Perry told Variety he already had a conversation about the recent turn of events: “They haven’t reached out as much as I have reached out to them to say I’m really excited about this next chapter.
” The entertainment titan also spoke about other big shifts in the industry that involve his productions. Just this April, Perry struck a new multi-year deal with BET Media Group that includes the renewal of eight of his shows for BET and its BET+ streamer. On July 2, Bloomberg reported , citing anonymous sources, that Paramount Global is in discussions to sell BET in a deal valued at $1.
6 billion-$1.7 billion to “buyers that include” BET CEO Scott Mills and Chinh Chu, founder of private-equity firm CC Capital. “I’m a huge fan of Scott and if this is a deal that he can work out and make happen, I’m 100% supportive,” Perry said.
“Between Shari Redstone and him, they’re the reason that I’m here. They’ve been fantastic to work with. I love working with Scott every day, and I will continue to work with him wherever in whateve.