Skydance Corporation

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 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 Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures, Skydance Animation, CBS, CNN, HBO Max, Paramount+, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Discovery, TNT Sports, Warner Bros. Games, and many other businesses and brands, alongside intellectual property for some of the most popular and highest-grossing media franchises of all time, including Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes, Scooby-Doo, Tom and Jerry, The Flintstones, Friends, The Dukes of Hazzard, the Wizarding World, the DC Universe, The Big Bang Theory, Regular Show, The Powerpuff Girls, Ed, Edd, n Eddy, Adventure Time, Ben 10, Rick and Morty, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, The Sopranos, The Wire, Succession, The Lord of the Rings, Mortal Kombat, Citizen Kane, The Matrix, Game of Thrones, The Wizard of Oz, King Kong, 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Lego Movie, as well as Paramount's Popeye, Sonic the Hedgehog, The Godfather, Top Gun, Mission: Impossible, Star Trek, Transformers, Friday the 13th, Cheers, Yellowstone, Reacher, Dexter, Criminal Minds, South Park, Beavis and Butt-Head, The Ren and Stimpy Show, SpongeBob SquarePants, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Loud House, Garfield, Blue's Clues, Happy Days, Dora the Explorer, Terminator, Grease, Mean Girls, Titanic, Jimmy Neutron and The Fairly OddParents.

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 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.

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.

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.

Formation

Template:More citations needed section After Paramount began making unsolicited offers to acquire WBD as a whole, the WBD board of directors placed the company up for auction on October 21, 2025, to maximize shareholder value. The auction was won in December 2025 by Netflix, Inc., which offered $82.7 billion to acquire just the WB studio business. Paramount continued to make unsolicited offers for the entirety of WBD, arguing that a Netflix acquisition of WB would give it an undue position in the subscription video on demand (SVOD) market, and that the company's attitudes towards theatrical film were potentially damaging to the cinema industry. Paramount CEO David Ellison stated that it would release at least 30 films per year if it acquired WBD, and would maintain industry standard release windows and the creative independence of divisions such as HBO.

In February 2026, Paramount made a revised offer to acquire WBD at $31 per share, pay Netflix's breakup fee, and—as a display of confidence that the sale would be approved and completed quickly—pay an ongoing penalty to WBD shareholders if the sale was not completed by a specific deadline. Paramount's offer was deemed superior by the WBD board, and was approved by its shareholders on April 23, 2026. On June 12, 2026, the sale was approved by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Supporters argue that the acquisition is necessary for the studios to achieve the scale needed to compete with tech companies, while preserving a commitment to the cinema industry. Members of the film industry have expressed concern over the resulting scale of the company, its potential impact on movie theaters, cable television, and jobs, as well as the Ellison family's relationship with the Trump administration and its potential influence on the editorial operations of CNN. The European Commission imposed conditions requiring Paramount to exit its United International Pictures distribution venture with Universal Pictures, while the United Kingdom is requiring that its individual news and children's businesses maintain editorial independence, and will prohibit the combination of its linear and on-demand services for five years.

In July 2026, California and 11 other U.S. states, as well as the Writers Guild of America, filed antitrust lawsuits in a California federal court to delay the consummation of the purchase. California argued that the combined company's share of box office and cable television revenue post-acquisition would give it undue leverage over film exhibitors and television providers, and that the consolidation would reduce viewpoint diversity and the quality of its output. On September 21, 2026, Paramount announced a proposed out-of-court settlement with the twelve states, subject to a five-year consent decree mandating specific investments towards film production and acquisition, restrictions on its engagement with film exhibitors and television providers, and the establishment of an independent board to oversee the editorial integrity and independence of CBS News and CNN post-acquisition, among other conditions. Amid concerns the antitrust remedies were not strong enough to address the original concerns raised in the suit. The settlement was approved by the court on September 30, 2026, with Paramount stating that it expected to complete the acquisition by October 6, 2026. That same day, Paramount announced that former Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz would be joining the newly-merged firm as co-CEO. A day later, it was announced that Casey Bloys would become president of the division currently known as Paramount Streaming, replacing Cindy Holland.

On October 2, 2026, the company's name would be unveiled as Skydance Corporation, reviving the Skydance name and expanding upon the "A Skydance Corporation" byline Paramount Skydance used, the Paramount and Warner Bros. names would be used in the studios only.