Ellison, whose company was in the midst of merging with MTV owner Paramount, and his top executive, Jeff Shell, told the group that they realized the network was in bad shape. Still, they wondered whether it could become a “music tastemaker” again.
The CEO said he had received calls from people with ideas for the cable network and some interested in partnering with MTV, including longtime music executive Irving Azoff, and Lucian Grainge, CEO of Universal Music Group, as well as some artists, people familiar with the matter said.
The dinner guests put forward ideas to help MTV, such as holding live events and taking advantage of its archive of interviews and music documentaries with bands from the ’80s and ’90s.
Comcast hived off many of its cable networks into a new company called Versant. Warner Bros. Discovery is planning to split itself in two, separating its studio and streaming business from its legacy cable networks.
Ellison, who now officially controls Paramount, is hugging its networks tighter—for now.
He aims to keep and revitalize networks like MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon as part of a revamp of the struggling entertainment company. The company also plans to improve Paramount’s streaming offering, cut more than $2 billion in costs and build up its studio and videogame business.
In recent weeks, Paramount Skydance’s new leaders have called employees back to the office five days a week, signed a $7.7 billion deal for Ultimate Fighting Championship rights and signed a multiyear deal with “Stranger Things” creators Matt and Ross Duffer.
Its cable business is particularly challenging. Executives intend to revive the networks without increasing spending on them, people familiar with the plans said. Among the options Paramount is discussing, those people said: increasing the cable networks’ digital presence.
Paramount Skydance has also discussed investing further in the networks’ brands and finding ways to make money from them outside of the cable TV business.
“There is probably a place outside the linear world where these brands exist and flourish,” Andy Gordon, chief strategy officer and chief operating officer of Paramount, told reporters at a briefing in August.
Shell, the company president who used to run NBCUniversal, has in internal conversations pointed to Bravo’s reinvention as an example of what Skydance could pursue, according to a person familiar with the matter. Bravo has become a lifestyle network with events such as Bravocon, the network’s fan convention that includes stars from the likes of its reality show franchise “Real Housewives.”
Paramount Skydance executives have discussed making MTV’s website a digital destination for fans who want to go deeper than they can on Spotify or YouTube in sampling music or learning about artists and genres, the person said.
The median age of MTV viewers is 56, according to Nielsen. And making cable-network brands relevant to younger viewers is a challenge.
Viewers of all ages are turning away from pay television, cutting the cord in favor of streaming services and spending increasing time watching or listening to podcasts and scrolling through videos.
“Even if you revitalize the MTV brand, it doesn’t mean people will all of a sudden sign up for pay TV again,” said Robert Fishman, an analyst with MoffettNathanson.
Still, the networks generate a large share of Paramount’s earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation, said people close to the situation. Also, splitting off the networks could require potentially costly renegotiation of distribution agreements with cable operators.
Content that airs on cable networks such as Nickelodeon can also feed Paramount’s streaming services.
Paramount Skydance might trim the number of networks it keeps. Executives have discussed selling BET, said a person familiar with the situation, something Paramount tried to do a few years ago and scrapped.
However, if they keep it, former Netflix executive Cindy Holland, who now heads streaming at Paramount Skydance, has said internally that she wants more premium shows for BET+ even if it means spending more money, a person familiar with the matter said.
Instead of greenlighting the next seasons of popular BET+ originals like Tyler Perry’s “Divorced Sistas,” Holland has floated the idea of asking the creator to make originals that would cost more than $7 million an episode, according to people familiar with the discussions. That is more than double what such shows typically cost.
BET has a deal with Perry until 2028 and, as part of it, has guaranteed around $200 million a year to Perry for him to make shows, according to people familiar with the situation.
Write to Jessica Toonkel at jessica.toonkel@wsj.com