Can the King brothers and Mel Karmazin work together?
That’s one of the big questions still on the table, as King World and CBS hammer out a deal for CBS to acquire the TV syndicator of “Oprah,” Wheel of Fortune,” and “Jeopardy” for some $3 billion.
A deal is likely this week.
“I can’t imagine them wanting to work for Mel, or Mel wanting to work with them,” noted one industry source.
The King Brothers have never reported to anyone, and Karmazin – who would be their new boss – is a legendary task master.
Conventional wisdom has the King brothers grabbing the dough and riding off into the sunset.
If the deal closes, the Kings will haul down some $750 million for their 25 percent of King World, making early retirement feasible.
But others say the Kings would like to continue building their syndication business, using the added clout they’d get as part of CBS. CBS’s Eyemark syndication business, which produced “Martha Stewart Living” and “The Howard Stern Show,” will likely be folded into King World.
In King World, Karmazin would get the nation’s biggest TV syndicator by far, at a time when all the major broadcast networks are looking for ways to increase their syndication presence.
CBS owns 14 TV stations that already pay King World a fortune for the syndicator’s latest show, “Hollywood Squares.”
Karmazin would also get King World’s $1 billion cash horde, which could be used for future purchases.