Paramount has officially ended its decades-long relationship with WPP Media, marking a significant shift as the company continues to navigate its proposed $8 billion merger with Skydance Media, backed by David Ellison. Publicis will now take over as the media agency for Paramount.
The decision was made without a formal agency review and reportedly came as a surprise to many within the industry. Representatives from Paramount, WPP, and Publicis have declined to comment on the development.
The move comes amid ongoing complexities around the Paramount–Skydance merger. Though the deal has cleared regulatory approvals from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the European Commission, it is still pending final approval from the FCC and is facing a lawsuit filed by Donald Trump against Paramount’s CBS.
Industry insiders suggest this shift could be part of Paramount’s broader efforts to streamline costs ahead of the merger.
Paramount’s partnership with WPP’s media arm began in 2004, starting with Mediaedge:cia, which later rebranded as MEC in 2010. MEC merged with Maxus in 2017 to form Wavemaker, a WPP agency that continued handling Paramount’s media until the recent change. In May, WPP consolidated its media operations under the new “WPP Media” brand, retiring the GroupM name.
Publicis, now in charge of Paramount’s media business, takes over during a time of major change and transition within the entertainment and advertising industries.
