The story
Founded by David Ellison on Oct 6, 2026.1
Background
Paramount Global
The origins of Paramount Global can be traced to Paramount Pictures, established in 1912, and the development of CBS and Viacom as major broadcasting and media businesses. Paramount Pictures was acquired by Gulf and Western Industries in 1966, while National Amusements, controlled by the Redstone family, acquired Viacom in 1987. Viacom subsequently acquired Paramount Communications in 1994 and merged with CBS Corporation in 2000.
In 2005, Viacom was divided into two publicly traded companies, CBS Corporation and Viacom. The companies reunited in December 2019 to form ViacomCBS, which was renamed Paramount Global in February 2022. The company operated film, television, streaming and broadcasting businesses, including Paramount Pictures, CBS, Nickelodeon, MTV, Paramount+ and Pluto TV.
Skydance Media
Skydance Media was founded by film producer David Ellison in 2010 as an independent film production and financing company. It developed a longstanding relationship with Paramount Pictures, co-financing and producing films in franchises including Mission: Impossible, Star Trek and Terminator. The companies renewed their production and distribution agreement in 2017.
Skydance expanded beyond feature films into television, animation and interactive entertainment. Its television division launched in 2013, while its interactive entertainment business was established following the acquisition of game developer The Workshop Entertainment in 2016. In 2017, the company expanded into animation through a partnership with Spain's Ilion Animation Studios. In February 2020, Skydance received a $275 million investment from RedBird Capital Partners and CJ ENM, valuing the company at $2.3 billion.
Warner Bros. Discovery
Warner Bros. Discovery was formed on April 8, 2022, through the combination of WarnerMedia, then owned by AT&T, and Discovery, Inc. The transaction brought together WarnerMedia's film, television, news and entertainment operations with Discovery's factual programming and international television businesses. Discovery, Inc. was renamed Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc., and the combined company began trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol WBD on April 11, 2022.
The company's businesses included Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Television, New Line Cinema, DC, HBO, CNN, Cartoon Network, Discovery Channel, TLC, Food Network and Warner Bros. Games. Its streaming services included HBO Max and Discovery+. David Zaslav, previously chief executive of Discovery, Inc., became president and chief executive officer of the combined company.
History
Formation of Paramount Skydance (2023–2025)
In 2023, National Amusements, the controlling shareholder of Paramount Global, began exploring potential transactions involving the media conglomerate amid financial difficulties and increasing competition in the entertainment industry. Several companies expressed interest in acquiring or partnering with Paramount, including Skydance Media, Sony Pictures, Apollo Global Management and Warner Bros. Discovery.
Negotiations between Paramount and Skydance initially collapsed in June 2024, but resumed the following month. On July 7, 2024, the companies announced a definitive agreement for a transaction involving the acquisition of National Amusements and the combination of Paramount Global and Skydance Media. The agreement included an investment of more than $8 billion from the Ellison family and RedBird Capital Partners. David Ellison, founder and chief executive of Skydance Media, was designated to lead the combined company, with Jeff Shell as president.
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The transaction underwent regulatory review throughout 2025. The Federal Communications Commission approved the merger on July 24, 2025, clearing a major remaining regulatory hurdle. The combination was completed on August 7, 2025, establishing Paramount Skydance Corporation, with Paramount Global and Skydance Media becoming its subsidiaries. Ellison assumed the positions of chairman and chief executive officer, and the company's Class B shares began trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol PSKY.
Paramount Skydance (2025–2026)
Following the merger, Paramount Skydance reorganized its operations into three principal business segments: studios, direct-to-consumer and television media. Its initial leadership included Andy Gordon as chief operating officer, Cindy Holland as chair of direct-to-consumer, George Cheeks as chair of television media, and Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein as co-chairs of Paramount Pictures. The company also revived Paramount Television Studios, combining the operations of Skydance Television and Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios.
In August 2025, Paramount announced a seven-year agreement with TKO Group Holdings valued at approximately $7.7 billion, giving Paramount+ exclusive United States distribution rights to Ultimate Fighting Championship events beginning in 2026, with selected events also airing on CBS. The following month, Paramount Pictures entered a three-year worldwide theatrical distribution agreement with Legendary Entertainment, beginning with the film Street Fighter.
On October 6, 2025, Paramount announced its acquisition of the digital news publication The Free Press, appointing its founder Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief of CBS News. Later that month, the company began a restructuring program involving approximately 2,000 planned job reductions, following its earlier announcement of a target to reduce operating costs by about $2 billion.
Acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery (2025–2026)
In June 2025, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) announced plans to separate its studios and streaming businesses from its television networks into two publicly traded companies. The proposed restructuring attracted interest from several potential acquirers, including Paramount Skydance, Netflix and Comcast. In December 2025, WBD entered into an agreement for Netflix to acquire its studios and streaming operations, including Warner Bros. Pictures, HBO and HBO Max, following the planned separation of its television networks.
Paramount continued pursuing an acquisition of WBD, submitting revised offers for the entire company. On February 26, 2026, WBD's board determined that Paramount's latest proposal of $31 per share in cash constituted a superior proposal to its existing Netflix agreement. Netflix declined to increase its offer and withdrew from the bidding process. On February 27, Paramount Skydance and WBD announced a definitive agreement under which Paramount would acquire WBD for approximately $81 billion in equity value and $110 billion in enterprise value.
WBD shareholders approved the transaction on April 23, 2026. The proposed acquisition subsequently faced antitrust litigation from a coalition of twelve U.S. states and the Writers Guild of America. In September, Paramount and WBD reached settlements resolving these challenges. The states' settlement included commitments concerning theatrical film output, increased domestic production investment, television distribution practices and editorial independence safeguards for CBS News and CNN. A federal court approved the states' consent decree on September 30, allowing the transaction to proceed.
Skydance Corporation (2026–present)
On October 6, 2026, Paramount Skydance completed its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Under the transaction, a subsidiary of Paramount Skydance merged into WBD, which survived as a wholly owned subsidiary of the acquiring company. Paramount Skydance Corporation subsequently changed its legal name to Skydance Corporation. Its Class B common stock transferred from Nasdaq to the New York Stock Exchange, changing its ticker symbol from PSKY to SKYD, while WBD shares ceased trading independently.
The acquisition brought together the film studios Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures, streaming services including Paramount+, HBO Max and Discovery+, television networks such as CBS, CNN, HBO, Nickelodeon, Discovery Channel, Cartoon Network and businesses including DC Studios, Warner Bros. Games and TNT Sports.
David Ellison remained chairman and chief executive officer of Skydance, while former Mattel chief executive Ynon Kreiz became co-chief executive officer, responsible for day-to-day operations and integration. Andy Gordon became president, while other appointments included Casey Bloys to oversee streaming content and Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein to lead the combined motion picture group. The company announced plans to integrate its streaming operations and pursue at least $6 billion in annual cost savings within three years.
Several days after the merger closed, various assets belonging to Cartoon Network were leaked to the general public. This "gigaleak" (similar to ones that occurred to Nintendo and Disney) leaked over 200 gigabytes worth of assets, promotional and behind the scenes material, and puppet rigs belonging to shows from Cartoon Network and its sister channel Adult Swim. Users on social media made references, theories and jokes saying that the Skydance merger was the reason for this leak, noting that Paramount's Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender had previously leaked while Paramount was a part of the initial Paramount-Skydance merger. This also led to further scrutiny of the merger itself.
From Wikipedia’s article on Skydance Corporation, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.7