Paramount Global Clinches Cable Carriage Deal with Comcast as Acquisition Rumors Swirl

variety.com:

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Paramount Global has clinched a deal that is crucial to its future — but it’s not the transaction that Wall Street has been buzzing about for a few weeks.

Paramount Global and Comcast have set a new carriage agreement covering Paramount’s cable channels and CBS-owned stations. The pact averts the prospect of a blackout for CBS stations and Paramount channels across Comcast’s cable systems, which reach about video 14.5 million subscribers and 29 million broadband subscribers.

A Paramount spokeswoman confirmed early Saturday that the deal has been completed but no details were provided. The covers “Paramount’s leading portfolio of entertainment, news and sports channels and apps across [Comcast’s] Xfinity platforms.” The deal presumably runs for multiple years.

Shoring up the contract with the nation’s largest cable operator is important for Paramount Global’s long-term financial health.