LOS ANGELES, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Paramount Global

unveiled plans on Wednesday to retain and develop its

stalwart entertainment brands Nickelodeon, MTV, and BET, while

sharply increasing feature film production following its $8.4

billion merger with Skydance Media.

"We're thinking about ... the cable networks, not as

declining linear assets that we need to spin off or deal with

somehow," said President Jeff Shell. "We're thinking of those

brands that we have to redefine."

Shell joined Chairman and CEO David Ellison and the rest of

the executive team at a media gathering on Wednesday on the

Paramount Pictures lot, where they discussed strategy for their

film, television, and streaming businesses - as well as emerging

technologies such as artificial intelligence.

The press event was held a week after Paramount completed

its merger with Skydance Media, installing new leadership at the

media company.

Television Media Chair George Cheeks acknowledged the

decline of cable television - "there's no question it's a super

challenging business" - but added that the company's cable

networks have created iconic franchises that may well thrive in

the world of streaming video.

Shell singled out BET, a network focused on Black culture

that Paramount previously explored selling, as an important

building block of the company's streaming strategy.

Paramount's plans to develop its legacy cable networks come

at a time when other media companies are shedding fading cable

networks. Warner Bros Discovery ( WBD ) and Comcast ( CMCSA )

have announced plans to separate their cable businesses from

their studios and streaming operations.

Josh Greenstein, co-chair of Paramount Pictures, said the

studio plans to raise annual output, from eight this year to 15

movies "very quickly," with the ultimate goal of releasing 20

films a year.

The coming slate will include new installments of familiar

franchises, such as "Star Trek" or "Transformers," as well as

original movies, like the newly acquired James Mangold film

project, "High Side," starring Timothée Chalamet.

The studio also will seek out family fare, in the vein of "A

Night at the Museum" or "The Goonies."

"We love these movies. We all grew up on these movies, and

we don't feel like many people are making them," said Dana

Goldberg, co-chair of Paramount Pictures.

Ellison said his goal is to transform Paramount into a haven

for the most talented filmmakers and sees emerging technologies

like artificial intelligence providing a tool to enhance

storytelling.

"I also think we have to acknowledge that this is a

technology that is evolving, I think, faster than everyone in

Hollywood really thinks it is," said Ellison, who is the son of

Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison. "When you start putting that in

a filmmaker's hands, I think you're seeing another moment

that'll be as transformative as when John Lasseter and Steve

Jobs built Pixar."