Overview
- The merger formally closed on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, when Paramount Skydance completed its takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery and the combined company began trading on the New York Stock Exchange as SKYD.
- David Ellison will serve as chairman and CEO and Ynon Kreiz as co‑CEO, and the company announced a senior executive roster that leaves Mark Thompson in charge of CNN and Bari Weiss as editor‑in‑chief of CBS News.
- Skydance unites major assets including Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros., HBO Max and Paramount+ into one parent while keeping individual studio and network brands intact under the Skydance corporate name.
- The company inherits about $80 billion in net debt and is targeting roughly $6 billion in cost reductions, a pressure point that will test its ability to meet creative and operational commitments.
- A federal consent decree approved in the settlement with 12 states requires minimum U.S. production spending, annual theatrical release quotas and a five‑member news editorial‑independence board, and these terms will shape hiring, output and newsroom oversight going forward.