TCM faces uncertainty under Paramount Skydance’s $80 bn debt

Turner Classic Movies faces fresh uncertainty under Paramount Skydance, whose early-October Warner Bros Discovery deal left $80 billion in debt, a Guardian feature article said Oct. 28.

The channel does not disclose ratings, but 68.2 million homes had access in 2020, while nearly 500 attended one recent 10 a.m. festival screening; its commercial-free model relies on fees, not ads.

The concern grew after an image of unknown origin circulated on Reddit showing a Skydance property chart without TCM's logo, according to the feature article. Skydance's website includes TCM on its list of brands.

IndieWire said the official position is that TCM is staying in place for now, according to the article. A TCM representative declined to comment on the record to the Guardian, and a Skydance representative did not comment on the company's plans for the channel.

Karie Bible, an author and Hollywood Forever Cemetery tour guide, described the channel's pull in personal terms. “It’s kind of emotional to explain, but TCM has been like a close, comforting friend during some very dark hours of my life,” she said.

TCM began in 1994 under CNN founder Ted Turner, who used MGM's film catalogue to build a cable channel around older movies. Its first broadcast was Gone with the Wind, Turner's favorite film, the article said.

The channel's identity rests on uninterrupted films, presenter-led context and programming across genres. The article cited appearances by Tom Hanks and Donald Trump, who appeared on TCM in 2007 and compared himself to Charles Foster Kane from Citizen Kane.

The anxiety has a recent precedent. After the $43 billion Warner Bros-Discovery merger in 2023, executives cut several TCM executives, including longtime programming head Charles Tabesh. Directors Martin Scorsese, Paul Thomas Anderson and Steven Spielberg contacted Warner Bros Discovery chief David Zaslav, who brought Tabesh back, though 70 TCM staffers who were also cut did not return.

Gabriel Miller, co-founder of film-production newsletter the Industry, said debt pressure could put linear TV properties in play. “One of the easiest ways to remedy some of that debt is to sell some of the linear TV assets,” Miller said. He added that CNN was unlikely to be sold, while Comedy Central or BET could potentially be sold.

TCM's business differs from advertising-supported cable channels because it does not run commercials. The article said it depends instead on carriage and streaming fees, with an app available to viewers who already have a traditional cable or live-TV streaming subscription.

The channel has also extended its brand through live events, including a Los Angeles film festival and a classic film cruise that set sail earlier this month. Marsha Gordon, a history professor who spoke at a recent TCM festival, expected about 30 people at a Friday 10 a.m. screening of a 35mm print of The Divorcee; nearly 500 attended.

Source: feature article, The Guardian – Culture, Oct. 28, 2026