Paramount could move CBS News HQ out of NYC: Report

Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison is considering moving CBS News out of New York City, New York, as the company looks for leverage in its legal fight with state attorneys general seeking to block its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, according to the New York Post.

The possibility comes as Ellison escalates his dispute with California Attorney General Rob Bonta and New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose states are among a coalition of 12 suing to stop the Warner Bros. Discovery deal. Ellison has separately threatened to move Paramount’s operations out of California if Bonta does not enter settlement talks by Oct. 1.

CBS News currently calls the CBS Broadcast Center on the West Side of Manhattan its world headquarters. The complex, which is famously labyrinthine, occupies nearly a full city block. CBS has had at least some operations based at the West 57th Street block since 1952.

The space includes several studios, including Studio 47, a combination newsroom-studio that is home of the “CBS Evening News,” and Studio 57, which is home to “CBS Mornings.” Production for “Inside Edition,” “CBS News Sunday Morning” and “60 Minutes” also takes place within the complex.

Moving CBS News could put additional pressure on James because of the network’s significant presence and workforce in New York. The news division operates from the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th Street in Manhattan, home to programs including “CBS Evening News,” “CBS Mornings” and “60 Minutes.”

A relocation could also give Paramount an opportunity to sell the CBS Broadcast Center, with a source telling the Post that the property could potentially be worth several billion dollars. Paramount has previously explored selling the Manhattan facility, including the possibility of selling the property but continuing to lease space in it. 

It is unclear where CBS News would move or how much of its New York operation would be relocated. Ellison has discussed Tennessee, Texas and Georgia as potential destinations for Paramount operations if the company leaves Los Angeles, California. His father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, also has significant business ties to Tennessee, where Oracle has been developing a large campus in Nashville, Tennessee.

The relocation discussions are part of a broader effort by Ellison to force negotiations over the Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition. Paramount has already secured approval for the transaction from the U.S. Justice Department, while California and 11 other states are pursuing their own antitrust challenge.

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The pressure is increasing as Paramount approaches an Oct. 1 deadline that could trigger a roughly $7 million-a-day fee tied to delays in completing the transaction. Ellison has told senior Paramount executives that the company’s board has approved plans for a potential departure from California, according to reports.

Bonta has criticized the threatened California move as an attempt to pressure regulators into approving the transaction. His office has indicated it wants more significant structural remedies to address its antitrust concerns rather than the behavioral concessions Paramount has offered.