Skydance Corporation

Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox companySkydance 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 company is expected to be headquartered in Los Angeles, California, as both film studios are located in Los Angeles, with major operations in New York City and Atlanta. The transaction is scheduled to close on October 6, 2026, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

The company will be led by David Ellison, who will serve as chairman and chief executive officer, and Ynon Kreiz, who will serve as co-chief executive officer. Ellison will oversee the company's long-term strategy, creative direction, technology, talent relationships, strategic partnerships and capital allocation, while Kreiz will oversee day-to-day operations and integration of the combined businesses. The company is named after Ellison's defunct production company Skydance Media, using the same name and logo.

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 companies' flagship primary film studios Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures, cable and news networks; CBS, CNN, subscription video and on-demand services HBO Max, Paramount+, children's cable networks; Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and other cable networks like; Discovery, TNT Sports, alongside major intellectual properties including DC, Looney Tunes, Scooby-Doo, Game of Thrones, Tom and Jerry, Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings film series, from Warner Bros.' catalogue, and Star Trek, Mission: Impossible, Top Gun, Dora the Explorer, Blue's Clues, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Sonic the Hedgehog film series, The Smurfs, Garfield, SpongeBob SquarePants, The Loud House, Rugrats and The Ren & Stimpy Show from Paramount Skydance's catalogue.

Background

Through an assortment of corporate mergers, splits, and partnerships, Paramount Skydance, Warner Bros. Discovery, its predecessors and subsidiaries shared a long history prior to the merger of the companies.

1912–1986

Template:Further Paramount Pictures was founded in 1912 as the Famous Players Film Company. CBS was founded in 1927, which Paramount Pictures held a 49% ownership stake in from 1929 to 1932.

On April 4, 1923, Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. was officially established, as the Warner brothers focused entirely on the motion picture industry. In 1927, Warner Bros. Pictures revolutionized the film industry by releasing its first sound film (or "talkie"), The Jazz Singer, starring Al Jolson. Warner Bros. underwent a series of ownership changes during the following decades. The studio was acquired by Seven Arts Productions in 1967, forming Warner Bros.-Seven Arts, which was subsequently acquired by Kinney National Company in 1969. Kinney later reorganized its entertainment assets as Warner Communications. In 1990, Warner Communications merged with Time Inc. to form Time Warner, bringing Warner Bros. into a larger media conglomerate.

In 1952, CBS formed CBS Television Film Sales, a division which handled broadcast syndication rights for CBS's library of network-owned television series. This division was renamed CBS Films in 1958 and again renamed CBS Enterprises Inc. on December 1, 1967. It was renamed Viacom (an acronym of Video and Audio Communications) in 1970. In 1971, this syndication division was spun off amid new FCC rules forbidding television networks from owning syndication companies. These rules were eventually abolished completely in 1993. Meanwhile, Paramount Pictures was acquired by Gulf and Western Industries in 1966, which then re-branded itself as Paramount Communications in 1989.

1986–2005

In 1986, Viacom purchased MTV Networks and Showtime/The Movie Channel Inc. from Warner Communications and American Express. In 1987, a majority stake in Viacom was acquired by theater operator company National Amusements. Viacom then purchased a 50.1% stake in Paramount Communications in February 1994 for $9.75 billion, following a five-month battle with shopping channel QVC. The merger was completed in July. In 1999, Viacom made its biggest acquisition to date by announcing plans to merge with its former parent CBS Corporation (the renamed Westinghouse Electric Corporation, which had merged with CBS in 1995). The merger was completed in 2000, resulting in CBS reuniting with its former syndication division.

During the same period, Time Warner expanded its television holdings through the 1996 acquisition of Turner Broadcasting System, bringing networks including CNN, TNT, TBS and Cartoon Network under the company. In 2001, Time Warner merged with America Online to form AOL Time Warner; the company reverted to the Time Warner name in 2003, and AOL was later spun off in 2009.

2005–2026

Template:Further On December 31, 2005, Viacom was split into two companies: the second incarnation of CBS Corporation, the former's corporate successor, and the second incarnation of Viacom, which was formed as a spin-off. Skydance Media was founded in 2006 by David Ellison. In 2009, Skydance and Paramount Pictures signed a five-year co-financing, production and distribution agreement, with Paramount holding an additional option of distribution. That deal was extended twice, in 2013 and 2017. On July 24, 2025, the FCC approved the merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media.

Meanwhile, In June 2018, AT&T completed its acquisition of Time Warner, which was subsequently renamed WarnerMedia. In April 2022, AT&T spun off WarnerMedia and combined it with Discovery, Inc., forming Warner Bros. Discovery.

Proposed Acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery and proposed Restructuring of the new company

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 Inc,, 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 continues 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 the scale necessary to compete more effectively with other streaming and technology conglomerates like The Walt Disney Company or Comcast Corporation, while maintaining a strict commitment with theatrical film exhibition. On the other hand, Critics within the film industry have expressed concerns that the consolidation might reduce competition, employment and opportunities for creators, and could possibly increase the combined company's bargaining power over movie theaters and cable television distributers. Concerns were also raised by filmmakers, Warner Bros. Discovery employees and lawmakers over the Ellison family's relationship with the Trump Administration, Middle East Sovereign Funds stakes and the potential effect of the acquisition on CNN's editorial independence.

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 30th, clearing one of the last and final obstacles to the transaction, which Paramount is currently expected to complete by October 6th.

On October 2, 2026, David Ellison announced that the combined company would be named Skydance Corporation following the completion of the Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition, reviving the Skydance name previously used by his production company and reflected in Paramount Skydance's "A Skydance Corporation" byline. 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.