Paramount CEO David Ellison has begun exploratory talks about relocating the studio's corporate headquarters from California, possibly to Tennessee, Texas or Georgia, according to a person familiar with the situation. The discussions were triggered when Tennessee officials approached Ellison on July 2, gauging his interest in a move, The Hollywood Reporter reported.
The relocation consideration comes as a coalition of 12 state attorneys general pursues a lawsuit to block Paramount's $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Paramount expects to prevail at trial but faces concern about accruing a $7 million-per-day ticking fee starting October 1 if the deal is delayed, the person said. As part of the exploratory discussions, the Paramount and Warner Bros. lots could be sold to help offset costs associated with a delay in closing, according to the person.
Ellison, who moved Paramount out of New York last year, presented Tennessee's offer to the board at the urging of advisers less than two weeks after it was initially presented. He convened a meeting with senior leadership at the Paramount lot on Melrose last Tuesday to discuss the potential move, with all options including decisions related to production spending in California "on the table," the person said.
Experts questioned whether a headquarters relocation would meaningfully disrupt Paramount's operations. James Dolan reincorporated his companies in Nevada while maintaining significant presences in Manhattan and Las Vegas. Paramount ultimately operates in the talent business and needs to attract creative executives, advertising specialists and skilled programmers, who are concentrated in Los Angeles, New York, Silicon Valley and Seattle, according to the source material.
Oracle chairman Larry Ellison announced Nashville as the company's "world headquarters" in 2024 but faced difficulty meeting hiring goals, with California and Seattle offering more competitive pay bands, according to a Bloomberg report. California Attorney General Rob Bonta dismissed Paramount's threat as blackmail on Tuesday, though he said regulators would listen to good-faith settlement discussions involving structural remedies.
A potential shift in Paramount's production spending in California comes as filming levels appear to have stabilized. Filming declined 14 percent in the first quarter of this year, but California's production spending increased 2 percent as competing regions saw significant year-over-year declines, according to a ProdPro report.
