Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger gets a name: Skydance
by The Washington Times AI News Desk · The Washington TimesDavid Ellison, chairman and CEO of Paramount Skydance, announced Friday that the media conglomerate formed by combining Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery will be called Skydance and will trade under the ticker SKYD. The name revives that of his original film production company. The roughly $110 billion deal is expected to close Oct. 6.
In a post on X, Mr. Ellison said the name was chosen so that neither Paramount nor Warner Bros. would be overshadowed by a new corporate identity, according to Variety. He described the combined company as “a creative-first home for bold, quality storytelling.”
Variety reported that the company intends to amend its certificate of incorporation to change its formal name to Skydance Corporation. It also plans to move its Class B stock from Nasdaq to the New York Stock Exchange and begin trading there Oct. 6.
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A federal judge approved the settlement with 12 state attorneys general Wednesday, clearing the deal’s final hurdle. Under terms announced Sept. 21 by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who led the coalition, the combined company must release at least 30 films a year in theaters for the first two years and 32 a year for the following three, according to TheWrap. Paramount also agreed to establish a news editorial independence board for CBS News and CNN within 180 days of closing, CNN reported. The Writers Guild of America separately settled its own lawsuit, with Paramount agreeing to bar writer layoffs at CBS News Broadcast for five years and pay $17.5 million to the union’s health fund.
Ynon Kreiz, Mattel’s chairman and CEO since 2018, starts at Paramount on Monday. A regulatory filing lists his co-CEO and board appointments as effective that day, while the company’s announcement described the co-CEO role as taking effect at closing. Ellison will remain chairman and CEO, focusing on strategy, creative direction and technology, while Mr. Kreiz oversees day-to-day operations and integration.
Other leadership changes are taking shape, Variety reported, citing sources. Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy, co-heads of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, are expected to leave after the merger. Paramount film chiefs Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein are in line to oversee both movie studios, and HBO’s Casey Bloys is poised to take over the combined streaming business.
The combined company is expected to carry roughly $80 billion in debt, TheWrap reported.
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