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Ellison names Skydance leadership for combined Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery ahead of close

David Ellison announced the senior executives who will run the merged Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery, to be called Skydance, a day before the deal is due to close on Tuesday 6 October.

3 outlets · 2L · 1C · 0R First reported Account updated
Image: Variety
Image: Deadline
Image: The Hollywood Reporter

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The story, neutrally told

Left · 2David Ellison announced the senior executives who will run the combined Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery, to be called Skydance, on the eve of the deal closing on Tuesday. Left · 2Ellison will be chairman and CEO, with Ynon Kreiz, the former Mattel chief, as co-CEO; Variety says the divisions will report to both. Left · 3Casey Bloys, who ran HBO and HBO Max, becomes Co-Chair and Chief Content Officer of Skydance DTC and takes on Paramount+ and Pluto; JB Perrette, previously Warner Bros. Discovery's streaming and games chief, is Co-Chair and Chief Business Officer of both Skydance DTC and Skydance TV.

Mixed · 2Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein, previously co-chairs of Paramount Pictures, will run the film business; Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group heads Pamela Abdy and Michael De Luca are not joining the new company, according to Variety. Left · 2George Cheeks, previously chair of TV media at Paramount Skydance, leads Skydance TV, overseeing linear channels and TV studios. Mixed · 2Mark Thompson continues at CNN; Deadline gives his title as Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of CNN Worldwide, while The Hollywood Reporter says it is 'at least for now' because contract extension talks continue; Deadline also lists Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief of CBS News.

Centre · 1Ellison called the group one that reflects 'the ambition behind this historic combination', saying the leaders share a respect for the creative process; Deadline says a complete executive list will follow soon after the close. Left · 1Variety says the $111 billion deal was agreed in February 2026, cleared in 68 countries, and got its final approval last week when a judge approved Paramount's settlement with 12 states; the company will carry an estimated $80 billion-plus in net debt and trade on the NYSE as 'SKYD' from Tuesday 6 October. Centre · 1Kreiz was named co-CEO on 30 September, after Cindy Holland, Paramount's chair of direct-to-consumer, said she was leaving; her note said 'David is optimizing for HBO stability', which Deadline read as signalling Bloys's elevation.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.

Left2 outlets

Framing
Trade reports on the appointments, with Variety adding deal financing and closing context and The Hollywood Reporter using colourful phrasing about the 'empire'.
Emphasis
Who runs each division; Variety on debt, approvals and ticker; THR on Thompson's contract talks.
Leaves out or plays down
Ellison's quote and the Holland departure backstory, which Deadline carries.
Charged language
“fiefdom”“rule TV”“Empire”
For example
“adding oversight of Paramount+ and Pluto to his HBIO Max fiefdom” — The Hollywood Reporter
“will be saddled with an estimated $80 billion-plus in net debt” — Variety

Centre1 outlet

Framing
Frames the announcement as the answer to a year of 'politicking' over who would run the merged studio, with backstory.
Emphasis
Ellison's statement, Holland's exit, Bloys's rise, Bari Weiss at CBS News.
Leaves out or plays down
Debt load, regulatory approvals and ticker, and the note that Abdy and De Luca are not joining.
Charged language
“false starts”“politicking”“mega-studio”
For example
“After a year of negotiations, false starts, and internal and external politicking” — Deadline

Right0 outlets

No right outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.