Why Did Paramount 'turn Back' To Restructure Its Publishing Business Three Years After Selling Publishing Giants?

Recently, American entertainment giant Paramount announced the establishment of a brand-new Paramount Global Publishing Company, which comes less than three years after it sold the publishing giant Simon & Schuster in 2023. What profound business logic hides behind this seemingly contradictory behavior?

Paramount Global, an American entertainment group, recently announced on its official website that it will set up the new Paramount Global Publishing, positioning it as a content creation hub. Many seasoned publishing industry insiders find this news quite ironic-Paramount had long held the global publishing giant Simon & Schuster, but in August 2023, it sold the company to private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR). This restructuring of its book publishing division indicates that Paramount has come to realize once again the strategic importance of the publishing business.

Redefining the value of book publishing business

According to Publishers Weekly, Paramount believes book publishing has two key values-first, increasing the interaction rate of Paramount content and enhancing fan loyalty; Second, create original IPs and seek new market opportunities. According to Paramount's official announcement, Paramount Global Publishing not only independently plans and publishes books, but also leverages its classic brands and film IP matrix to develop derivative content and incubate new IPs through original stories. In addition, the company will collaborate with publishing partners to carry out copyright licensing and cooperative business.

On the management side, Paramount Global Publishing is overseen by the Group's Global Products & Experiences Division. Josh Silverman, President of this division, is mainly responsible for the group's IP copyright licensing, peripheral derivative product development, and offline events. It is understood that Silverman has previously worked at Disney, Marvel, and Mattel-all of which have deeply developed book copyright licensing businesses. Notably, during his tenure at Mattel, Silverman also led the establishment of his own exclusive publishing brand.

Additionally, Amy Jarashow was appointed publisher for Paramount Global Publishing, responsible for the brand's day-to-day operations. Jarasho enjoys high recognition in the global publishing industry. He previously served as Director of Copyright at Parragon, a leading UK publisher, and since 2023 has been Vice President of Paramount Global Publishing.

Continuously developing original stories and brand-new IPs

In an interview with overseas media, Jalashaw stated that the establishment of the new book publishing company has truly made book publishing the core sector of the group's content creation, deepening fans' emotional connection with classic and popular IPs, continuously developing original stories and new IPs, and empowering the group's long-term content operations and layout.

It is understood that Paramount Global Publishing will leverage the IP resources of the group's various business lines to develop new publishing content, complementing the businesses of existing licensed publishers, including Random House Children's Books, Bendon, Insight Editions, PI Kids, and others. At the same time, the company will independently incubate original IPs, which can later be extended to diverse formats such as film and television, offline experiences, and more. Currently, Paramount owns several world-renowned IPs, such as PAW Patrol, SpongeBob SquarePants, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Star Trek, and Yellowstone.

Jalashaw stated that in terms of copyright business, the group will maintain its original operating model, mainly benefiting from the professional advantages of partner publishers and good cooperative relationships with offline retail channels. "Paramount Global Publishing will focus on 'projects that require the group's deep autonomy,' including original fictional works and classic IP derivative content creation. We will adhere to a copyright licensing cooperation strategy, expand the scale of licensing business, and deeply cultivate the building of our own publishing brand. As the group's IP continues to grow, co-publishers will also benefit. We will standardize globally standardized writing formats, enrich the illustration material library, and achieve global sharing and dissemination of resources. "

In addition, Paramount will be fully responsible for the development and production of its own print books, e-books, and audiobooks. Jalasho explained: "We will announce the book sales and distribution partners separately later." The book publishing business plan will first launch in the United States and Canada, followed by a gradual expansion into the global market. "

Paramount, under the Paramount brand, has created many globally renowned IPs.

Paramount's foray into the book publishing business aligns with the development paths of several leading entertainment IP licensing companies. Take Mattel as an example: during Silverman's tenure, it launched its own publishing brand, Mattel Press, in 2023. The press released multiple original books, including its first young adult novel "Barbie," its first adult novel "American Girl," and the series-related publications "Masters of the Universe." Books from Mattel's own publishing brand are released simultaneously with works from long-term licensed publishing partners, many of whom also maintain business relations with Paramount.

New capital enters Paramount

Building an all-encompassing business ecosystem

In less than three years, Paramount has completed a significant shift in its publishing business, moving from "divestment and selling off" to "active reconstruction," and the reasons behind this are thought-provoking.

In August 2023, Paramount sold its publishing division Simon & Schuster to the private equity firm KKR.

In August 2023, Paramount sold Simon & Schuster to the private equity firm KKR for $1.62 billion. At that time, Paramount was facing an unprecedented operational crisis-its streaming business lost $511 million in the first quarter of 2023, and the streaming platform Paramount continued to burn cash without breaking into the top tier of the industry. Traditional TV viewers were continuously declining, its cable TV networks were undergoing large-scale layoffs, and MTV's news operations were shut down. From the perspective of Paramount's management at the time, Simon & Schuster, as a book publishing business, had a relatively low strategic connection to the group's focus on streaming transformation, so selling the asset became a reluctant measure to "amputate an arm to stop the bleeding" and "infuse cash into the streaming business."

However, this approach did not reverse Paramount's decline-the cash-burning streaming battle had little effect, traditional businesses continued to shrink, and management changed frequently... In July 2025, Skydance Media acquired Paramount for $8 billion, completely rewriting its development logic and also laying the groundwork for the eventual return of the book publishing business.

Looking at the global entertainment market, major companies have long embarked on their respective transformation paths. Streaming giant Netflix itself has strong distribution capabilities and proactively develops content, becoming a model of the combination of "content–technology–distribution." Century-old film giant Disney has long been deeply involved in original IP and theme parks, and has built its own platform Disney, forming a strong and stable ecosystem chain.

David Ellison, CEO of Skydance Media

Skydance Media, backed by tech giant Oracle, operates in a way completely different from Paramount's traditional business approach. David Ellison, CEO of Skydance Media, has explicitly stated that he aims to transform Paramount into a "technology pioneer company," placing "greater emphasis on learning from Silicon Valley experiences." He expressed the hope of building a new type of entertainment empire with capabilities in original content creation, technology development, and distribution channels, to maximize the full lifecycle value of IP.

Within this strategic framework, the role of book publishing has undergone a fundamental transformation. Previously, Simon & Schuster's core value lay in generating financial returns, with limited connection to Paramount's IP. The newly established book publishing division, however, is positioned as a "content incubator" within the group's IP ecosystem. Ellison stated that acquiring Paramount is a deep integration of content, technology, and distribution. In the competitive streaming industry, having control over content sources is the core competency, and book publishing is precisely the starting point for IP incubation.

From selling a book publishing giant to building an IP-driven proprietary publishing brand, Paramount's strategic shift reflects the entertainment industry's renewed recognition of content value. Under the new landscape dominated by tech capital, truly realizing the long-term value of IP requires integrating every step from content creation to cross-format monetization. As a key cornerstone of the IP ecosystem, the strategic significance of book publishing has been profoundly highlighted in this process.