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George Cheeks names Skydance TV leadership team after Paramount-Warner Bros. merger

Skydance TV co-chair and chief content officer George Cheeks announced in a staff memo the ten executives who will report to him after the Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery merger. Most are holdovers; Channing Dungey keeps Warner Bros. TV and gains the cable channels.

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

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The story, neutrally told

Left · 2George Cheeks, co-chair and chief content officer of Skydance TV, announced his senior leadership team in a memo to staff on Wednesday 28 October 2026, following the completion of the Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery merger. Centre · 1Deadline counts ten top executives across studios, entertainment, sports and news, all reporting directly to Cheeks. Left · 2Channing Dungey continues to run Warner Bros. Television and, according to Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, also oversees the combined company's cable networks, which The Hollywood Reporter puts at more than 50 channels.

Centre · 1Deadline reports the creation of Skydance TV Studios, which will house Warner Bros. Television Group under Dungey, CBS Studios under David Stapf and Paramount Television Studios under Matt Thunell. Mixed · 2David Berson leads Skydance's Global Sports Group, covering CBS Sports, TNT Sports and WBD Sports, whose combined rights include the NFL, UEFA Champions League, NHL, MLB, March Madness, PGA Tour, The Masters, WNBA, NASCAR and college football. Mixed · 2Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter say Skydance Sports Entertainment is joining Cheeks' purview after Jesse Sisgold, formerly president and COO of Skydance Media and more recently head of Paramount Sports Entertainment, said he is leaving.

Mixed · 2Amy Reisenbach leads CBS Entertainment and Tom Cibrowski runs CBS News operations; Bryon Rubin is COO and now also oversees the CBS Television Stations group, working with division president Jennifer Mitchell. Mixed · 2Laurel Weir oversees research and programming insights, Mike Benson leads marketing, and Chris Ender leads communications and publicity. Mixed · 2In the memo Cheeks said the priorities are to deliver great storytelling, maximise the value of programming, franchises and brands, and strengthen audience connection, and that more information on structure would follow.

Left · 1Variety says the news is no surprise, since the divisional heads and Dungey's expanded cable remit had already been reported, and notes that JB Perrette, formerly WBD's head of global streaming and games, is Skydance TV's other co-chair and chief business officer. Left · 1The Hollywood Reporter says the structure is heavy on familiar names, with many holdovers from the existing Paramount TV leadership team and Cheeks now also overseeing the largest TV studio in Hollywood.

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 coverage of an internal reorganisation: Variety stresses continuity and that the news was expected; The Hollywood Reporter stresses holdovers and the scale of Cheeks' expanded remit.
Emphasis
Continuity of Paramount executives, Dungey's expanded cable role, Cheeks' background (Variety).
Leaves out or plays down
Neither mentions the creation of Skydance TV Studios as a named unit; Variety omits Sisgold's exit.
For example
“The news isn’t a surprise” — Variety
“heavy on familiar names” — The Hollywood Reporter

Centre1 outlet

Framing
Straight announcement of the ten-executive team, led by the new structure across studios, sports, entertainment and news.
Emphasis
Names and roles, creation of Skydance TV Studios, Sisgold's departure.
Leaves out or plays down
Does not note that the appointments were previously expected or give Cheeks' career background or Perrette's co-chair role.
For example
“has named his ten top executives across the company’s studios business, entertainment, sports and news.” — Deadline

Right0 outlets

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

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