If you were to judge Edgar Bronfman, Jr. strictly on his track record as a media executive, you might conclude that the fact he believes he’s qualified to steer a studio as troubled as Paramount in 2024 might suggest he probably has imbibed a bit too often in the products his family has produced for decades. And the last time I had a shot of Seagram’s whisky, I know I felt its potency for quite some time.
Bronfman fils did have roughly five years at the helm of Universal Pictures in the latter part of the 1990s, eventually folding in the assets of Polygram as well. It was, to be kind, not the most robust era in its history. On the theatrical side, its releases were rife with poorly produced and even more poorly received IP repurposings and remakes, including SERGEANT BILKO, MCHALE’S NAVY, THE NUTTY PROFESSOR, PSYCHO, LEAVE IT TO BEAVER, THE BLUES BROTHERS (2000!), DUDLEY DO-RIGHT and BABE. You don’t recall seeing them in the theatres or seeking them out recently on demand, either, do you? On the TV side, arguably the best move his team made was to integrate Polygram’s sleeper reality show BLIND DATE into their bland mix of tepid first-run shows that included the punchline duo of HERCULES and XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS.
But he does have money, or at least access to it, which is enough for him to have enough street cred to throw yet another monkey wrench into the sale of what fellow nepo baby Shari Redstone turned Paramount Global into on her watch, culminating with an eleventh hour and fifty-third minute bid submitted mere hours before the window of opportunity expired
Bronfman, who formerly ran Warner Music and liquor giant Seagram, said in a separate letter to Phillips that he has secured financing commitments of about $5 billion from an array of individuals and companies including Fortress Investment Group; BC Partners Credit, crypto investor and former child actor Brock Pierce; longtime activist investor Jeff Ubben and his wife, Laura Ubben; and Duty Free Americas Chairman Simon Falic.It’s a good time to be an investor in the sports and entertainment streaming service Fubo, whose share price leapt 17% late Friday before climbing a further 23% this morning.
Fubo’s surge is the result of its Friday antitrust victory (for now) over Venu, the sports app joint venture between ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery. Venu was going to become available later this week at the price of $42.99 a month, but that’s on hold now—a development that could save Fubo from imminent doom.
Doom that was developed over the nearly four years of existence under Bronfman’s watch, and that were it not to for this favorable ruling, as they testified, would have gone bankrupt by the first quarter of 2025.
Ahh, there’s that track record again.
The remaining people at Paramount companies, and certainly the legacies of those already departed, deserve a better fate than someone with Bronfman’s track record and vision offer. They just survived another 70-ish second generation scion with little ability beyond legal maneuverings. Just because he’s probably a better bartender shouldn’t make him a better steward.
Until next time…