Skydance Corporation

Skydance Corporation

Type	Public
Traded as	NYSE: SKYD
ISIN	🆔
Industry	Mass media Entertainment
Predecessors	Paramount Skydance Warner Bros. Discovery
Founded 📆	October 6, 2026 (2026-10-06)
Founder 👔
Headquarters 🏙️	One Astor Plaza, 1515 Broadway, New York City, New York , United States
Area served 🗺️	Worldwide
Key people	David Ellison (chairman and CEO) Ynon Kreiz (co-CEO)
Products 📟	List Films Music Television shows Web portals Movie theaters Video games Streaming Cable news
Brands	List Paramount 5 BET CBS CBS News CBS Sports CMT Comedy Central Miramax (49%) MTV Network 10 Nickelodeon Nick Jr. Nickelodeon Movies Paramount+ Paramount Network Paramount Pictures Paramount Animation Pluto TV Pop Showtime Skydance Animation Skydance Sports Smithsonian Channel TV Land Warner Bros. HBO Max HBO Warner Bros. Entertainment Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures Animation New Line Cinema CNN CNN International TBS DC Entertainment TNT Sports Cartoon Network Warner TV Discovery Channel Discovery+ Science Channel American Heroes Channel Asian Food Network Bleacher Report Destination America Turner Classic Movies TNT Adult Swim
Members
Number of employees
Divisions	Skydance Studios Skydance TV Media Skydance Direct-to-Consumer Skydance Global Experiences
🌐 Website	[ ]
📇 Address
📞 telephone

Skydance Corporation (trading as Skydance) is an upcoming American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate scheduled to be formed through the merger of Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery. The transaction is scheduled to close on October 6th, 2026, subject to customary closing conditions. The company is expected to be headquartered in New York City with major operations in Los Angeles and Atlanta.

The company will be led by David Ellison as chairman and chief executive officer, alongside Ynon Kriez as co-chief executive officer. Ellison will oversee long-term strategy, creative direction, technology, strategic partnerships and capital allocation; while Kreiz will oversee day-to-day operations and integration of the combined businesses. The new company will use the Skydance name and branding formerly associated with Ellison's Skydance Media.

The company will combine the assets of Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery, bringing together major film studios, television networks, streaming services, news organizations and entertainment franchises. Its portfolio will include the company's flagship primary film studios; Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures, cable and news networks like CBS and CNN, subscription video and on-demand services; HBO Max, Discovery+ and Paramount+, children's cable networks; Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network, and other major cable networks like Discovery and TNT Sports.

Background

Further information: Paramount Pictures § History, Gulf and Western Industries, Viacom (1952–2005), Viacom (2005–2019), CBS Corporation, Skydance Media, Paramount Global, and Paramount Skydance

Further information: Warner Bros. Pictures § History; Kinney National Company; WarnerMedia; Discovery, Inc.; and Warner Bros. Discovery

Further information: Merger of AOL and Time Warner; Split of CBS Corporation and Viacom; Acquisition of Time Warner by AT&T; 2019 merger of CBS and Viacom; Merger of Discovery, Inc. and WarnerMedia; and Merger of Skydance Media and Paramount Global

Skydance Media was founded by David Ellison and developed a long-running relationship with Paramount Pictures, beginning with a co-financing and production partnership in 2009. In August 2025, Skydance Media completed its merger with Paramount Global, creating Paramount Skydance.

Separately, WarnerMedia and Discovery, Inc. merged in April 2022 to form Warner Bros. Discovery.

Paramount Skydance subsequently agreed to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, with the combined company scheduled to adopt the Skydance name upon closing.

Proposed Acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery

After Paramount began making unsolicited offers to acquire WBD as a whole, the WBD board of directors initiated a review of strategic alternatives on October 21, 2025, aimed to maximize shareholder value which developed into a formal bidding process. The process was won in December 2025 by Netflix, which agreed to acquire Warner Bros., including its film and television studios, HBO and HBO Max, in a transaction valued at $82.7 billion. Paramount continued to make unsolicited offers for the entirety of WBD, arguing that a Netflix acquisition of Warner Bros. would give it an excessive share of the Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) market and that Paramount's proposal would provide greater support for theatrical exhibition. Paramount CEO David Ellison stated that the combined company would release 30 theatrical films annually, maintain theatrical release windows, and preserve the creative independence of divisions such as HBO.

In February 2026, Paramount revised its offer several times, ultimately proposing to acquire WBD for $31 per share in cash, fund WBD's $2.8 billion termination fee to Netflix, and pay an additional "ticking fee" to WBD shareholders if the transaction had not closed after September 30, 2026. The WBD board determined that Paramount's proposal constituted a superior offer, and the transaction was approved by WBD shareholders on April 23, 2026. On June 12, 2026, The US Department of Justice's Antitrust Division completed its review of the acquisitions and cleared the transaction. The European Commission approved the acquisition subject to conditions requiring Paramount to withdraw from its United International Pictures distribution joint venture with Universal Pictures in Europe. Similarly in the United Kingdom, Paramount made legally binding commitments to maintain the distinct editorial identities of its linear and on-demand services, preserve the independence of Channel 5 News from CBS and CNN international, and keep children's channels including Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network editorially distinct. Most of the commitments are to remain in effect for five years.

Supporters of the acquisition argued that combining the companies would provide greater scale to compete with streaming and entertainment conglomerates like Disney and Comcast while maintaining theatrical distribution. Critics, including filmmakers, employees and lawmakers, raised concerns over increased media consolidation, reduced competition and employment, and the combined company's bargaining power.

In July 2026, California and eleven other U.S States, along with the Writers Guild of America, filed antirust lawsuits seeking to delay the acquisition. Paramount later reached a settlement with the states in late September, subject to a five-year consent decree containing competition and editorial safeguards. The settlement was finally approved by a federal court on September 30, clearing one of the final obstacles to the transaction, which Paramount is currently expected to complete by October 6.

On October 2, 2026, David Ellison announced that the combined company would be named Skydance following the completion of the Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition, reviving the Skydance name previously used by his production company Skydance Media. Paramount and Warner Bros. would retain their individual studio identities under the new parent company. Ellison would serve alongside former Mattel chief executive Ynon Kreiz as co-CEO of the combined company, with Kreiz overseeing its day-to-day operations and integration. Ahead of the merger's completion, reports also stated that Paramount Pictures co-chairs Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg were expected to lead the combined Paramount and Warner Bros. film operation, succeeding Warner Bros. film chiefs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy.

Management

Executive leadership

• David Ellison – Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer (Co-CEO); responsible for the company's overall strategy, creative direction, technology, talent relationships, strategic partnerships and capital allocation.
• Ynon Kreiz – Co-Chief Executive Officer (Co-CEO); responsible for the company's day-to-day management and integration of the combined businesses; appointed effective 5 October 2026.
• George Cheeks – Chair of TV Media; oversees the company's television, broadcast and cable businesses, including CBS, CBS Studios, BET, Nickelodeon and Paramount Media Networks. He is also expected to oversee Warner Bros. Television Studios and Paramount Television Studios following the merger.
• Andy Gordon – Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Operating Officer (COO); oversees corporate strategy and operations.
• Dennis Cinelli – Chief Financial Officer (CFO); responsible for the company's financial management.
• Makan Delrahim – Chief Legal Officer; responsible for the company's legal affairs.
• Stephanie Kyoko McKinnon – General Counsel and Secretary.
• Dane Glasgow – Chief Product Officer; responsible for product strategy and development.
• Jim Sterner – Chief People Officer; responsible for the company's global people and talent strategy.
• Melissa Zukerman – Chief Communications Officer; responsible for corporate communications.
• Jay Askinasi – Chief Revenue Officer; responsible for the company's revenue and commercial strategy.

Senior divisional leadership

• Dana Goldberg – Co-Chair of Paramount Pictures and Chair of Paramount Television Studios; expected to oversee the combined film operations with Josh Greenstein following the merger.
• Josh Greenstein – Co-Chair of Paramount Pictures and Vice Chair of Platforms; expected to oversee the combined film operations with Dana Goldberg following the merger.
• Casey Bloys – Head of streaming; expected to stay and oversee the combined HBO Max and Paramount+ streaming operations following the merger.
• Mark Thompson – Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CNN; Ellison has held discussions with Thompson about remaining in charge of CNN following the merger.
• James Gunn and Peter Safran - Co-CEOs of DC Studios. Gunn and Safran will continue to lead the studio and brand following the merger.

Assets

Further information: List of assets owned by Skydance Corporation

References

Template:Paramount Skydance Template:Paramount Skydance franchises

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