by Charles Gasparino
Paramount is considering the option of moving CBS News out of the Big Apple as his legal battle with New York and California’s attorneys general is heating up, The Post has learned.
One point of leverage for Paramount is potentially moving its news operations out of New York City as California AG Rob Bonta leads a coalition of 12 lefty states in an effort to block Paramount’s $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, people close to Paramount told The Post on Wednesday.
While CEO David Ellison would prefer not to relocate CBS News, there have been broad discussions internally about a potential move to another city, said a source with knowledge of the matter.
Pulling CBS News from the city would mark a seismic change to the media landscape — and the idea comes as Paramount’s board has approved a plan to move the Hollywood studio out of California if Bonta doesn’t agree to settlement talks.
CBS News has about 1,200 employees worldwide, with a chunk of them in New York City, according to a network spokesperson.
“The real negotiation is how much he will move out of California and New York of his current operations. If it involves a lot of production, that’s a lot of jobs,” a source told The Post.
The person, a media executive with knowledge of Paramount’s intentions, said Ellison could move all his news operations to Atlanta, where CNN is headquartered, in anticipation of eventually winning the legal row with the state AGs — even if the case reaches the Supreme Court.
Another source close to the company described the possible moves as “contingency plans.”
CBS News’ broadcast center could fetch the billionaire Ellison family a “couple of billion dollars,” the source added.
Paramount insiders believe Bonta wants a spin-off of CNN, a Warner Bros. asset, before any deal is pushed through – though Ellison isn’t willing to do that as of now.
But people inside Paramount are still optimistic that the company will be able to reach a settlement with Bonta, whom Ellison wants to come to the table by Oct. 1.
Under the terms of its deal with WBD, from that date onward, Paramount would have to cough up a painful $7 million per day until the merger is completed.
Paramount had been hoping for a speedy court battle starting in November, but a federal judge last week set a March 2027 trial date – a painful setback for Ellison that saw him publish a New York Times op-ed pledging to be a “trusted steward” of CNN.
Ellison is seeking leverage in his battle with Bonta and New York AG Letitia James, though it’s unclear how much of his production operations he is prepared to move out of California or New York.
No formal talks are now taking place, and the two sides remain at odds over possible concessions, people close to the matter told The Post.
Paramount’s optimism comes as pressure has been mounting within the Democratic Party to keep the studio owner happy and prevent any backlash from an exodus of Hollywood jobs, sources said.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has reportedly raised concerns behind closed doors about Bonta’s lawsuit, warning that if the media merger is blocked, it could hurt Los Angeles jobs.
The massive media merger would combine HBO Max, Paramount+, HBO, CBS, CNN and thousands of movie titles under one company led by Ellison, the son of Oracle billionaire and close Trump ally Larry Ellison.
Bonta has argued the deal would lead to higher prices, lower quality and less content, saying it would control nearly one-third of the US theatrical film distribution market and almost one-third of the nation’s basic cable programming.
Paramount has repeatedly defended the merger, noting that it has been greenlit by the US Department of Justice, as well as regulators in the EU, UK, Australia and China.
Paramount did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
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