Paramount has officially completed its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, bringing some of Hollywood’s biggest studios, television networks and streaming platforms under one roof.
The newly combined company will operate as Skydance, led by Chairman and CEO David Ellison. The deal closed after receiving the required regulatory approvals, the company announced October 6. Skydance shares will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “SKYD.”
The merger creates one of the world’s largest entertainment companies, combining Paramount, Warner Bros., HBO, CBS, CNN, Nickelodeon, MTV, Cartoon Network, BET, Comedy Central, Food Network and HGTV, among other major brands. Its streaming portfolio includes Paramount+, HBO Max and Pluto TV, while CBS Sports and TNT Sports give the company a significant presence in live sports.
The combined company says it reaches more than 200 million streaming subscribers across its platforms and now controls a massive library of film and television properties ranging from Top Gun and Harry Potter to The White Lotus and SpongeBob SquarePants.
Skydance plans to release at least 30 theatrical films annually, with a minimum 45-day theatrical window, while producing more than 180 television shows and series.
The company also plans to eventually bring its direct-to-consumer streaming products together into a single service, although no timetable for that transition was announced.
“Today is a historic day, not just for Skydance but for our entire industry,” Ellison said, adding that the goal is to create a stronger competitor capable of telling stories “on every platform, for audiences everywhere.”
Financially, the new Skydance represents nearly $70 billion in revenue and is targeting more than $6 billion in cost synergies over the next three years. Those savings are expected to come primarily through technology, integration, procurement, marketing and real estate.
The completion of the deal marks another major restructuring of Hollywood, placing Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery — two companies with histories stretching back more than a century — inside one global entertainment operation.
