Paramount Skydance Corporation was a short-lived American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate co-headquartered in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California and at One Astor Plaza in New York City. CBS, a major Paramount asset, is also headquartered in New York City, but at the CBS Broadcast Center in Midtown Manhattan.
Paramount Skydance also housed major offices and operations at the previous Skydance Media headquarters in Santa Monica, California. Larry and David Ellison control the company, owning 77.5% of the voting shares and 47.2% of all shares. RedBird Capital Partners own 22.5% of the voting shares and 13% of all shares.
Paramount Skydance was formed on August 7, 2025, by David Ellison, through the merger of Skydance Media, Paramount Global, and National Amusements. The company traded under the ticker symbol "PSKY" on the Nasdaq.
Shortly after its formation, Paramount Skydance began pursuing an unsolicited bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery and subsequently won a bidding war for the company in February 2026. Paramount Skydance's purchase of WBD was approved by the U.S. Department of Justice on June 12, 2026. A subsequent anti-trust lawsuit by 12 state attorneys general (led by California) initially led Paramount to delay the closure of the acquisition until June 1, 2027, and a federal judge ruled in favor of holding a trial for the lawsuit in March 2027. Ultimately, on September 21, 2026, Paramount Skydance reached a settlement with the states, which included provisions for independent editorial boards at CNN and CBS News and a commitment by Paramount to release 30 films annually, with a $30 million penalty for each film below that target. On October 2, 2026, David Ellison announced that Paramount Skydance will be restructured and renamed to Skydance Corporation, and its stock will be traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "SKYD" upon the merger's forthcoming completion, which closed on October 6, 2026.
Contents
Background
Through an assortment of corporate mergers, splits, and partnerships, Paramount Pictures, CBS, Viacom, and Skydance Media shared a long history prior to the 2025 merger joining the entities as Paramount Skydance.
1912–1986
Paramount Pictures was founded in 1912 as the Famous Players Film Company. CBS was founded in 1927, which Paramount Pictures held a 49% ownership stake in from 1929 to 1932.
In 1952, CBS formed CBS Television Film Sales, a division which handled broadcast syndication rights for CBS's library of network-owned television series. This division was renamed CBS Films in 1958 and again renamed CBS Enterprises Inc. on December 1, 1967. It was renamed Viacom (an acronym of Video and Audio Communications) in 1970. In 1971, this syndication division was spun off amid new FCC rules forbidding television networks from owning syndication companies. These rules were eventually abolished completely in 1993.
Meanwhile, Paramount Pictures was acquired by Gulf and Western Industries in 1966, which then re-branded itself as Paramount Communications in 1989.
1986–2005
In 1986, Viacom purchased MTV Networks and Showtime/The Movie Channel Inc. from Warner Communications and American Express. In 1987, a majority stake in Viacom was acquired by theater operator company National Amusements.
Viacom then purchased a 50.1% stake in Paramount Communications in February 1994 for $9.75 billion, following a five-month battle with shopping channel QVC. The merger was completed in July. In 1999, Viacom made its biggest acquisition to date by announcing plans to merge with its former parent CBS Corporation (the renamed Westinghouse Electric Corporation, which had merged with CBS in 1995). The merger was completed in 2000, resulting in CBS reuniting with its former syndication division.
2005–2022
On December 31, 2005, Viacom was split into two companies: the second incarnation of CBS Corporation, the former's corporate successor, and the second incarnation of Viacom, which was formed as a spin-off. The two companies re-merged in 2019, forming ViacomCBS, renamed to Paramount Global in 2022.
Skydance Media was founded in 2006 by David Ellison. In 2009, Skydance and Paramount Pictures signed a five-year co-financing, production and distribution agreement, with Paramount holding an additional option of distribution. That deal would later be extended twice in 2013 and 2017.
History
Formation
In 2023, after struggling with debt and striving to remain competitive in the entertainment industry, Paramount's parent company, National Amusements, explored potential merger and acquisition opportunities for Paramount Global. Numerous prominent companies, such as Sony Pictures, Warner Bros. Discovery, Apollo Global Management, Warner Music Group, Allen Media Group, and Skydance Media, had indicated their interest in exploring potential business partnerships or purchasing the company.
After first coming to a merger deal with Skydance, Paramount and Skydance canceled the proposed merger on June 11 due to unsatisfactory conversations. Following a break in the talks, Skydance was able to reach a preliminary agreement on July 2, 2024, to perform a 3-way merger between it, National Amusements, and Paramount to establish what was then known as "New Paramount". After the merger closed, Skydance Media CEO David Ellison became the chairman and CEO of the combined company and Jeff Shell became the president.
Paramount said in February 2025, and May 2025, that it expected the transaction to close within the first half of the year, but it did not happen. With the deal not yet approved, the first automatic extension to July 7, 2025, went into effect on April 8, 2025, after which the second automatic extension to October 4, 2025, went into effect on July 7, 2025. The SEC and the European Commission (EC) approved the transaction in February 2025. On July 24, 2025, the FCC approved the merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media.
Merger restructuring
On August 4, 2025, Paramount Skydance announced some of its new leadership alongside Ellison and Shell, with Andy Gordon joining as COO and strategy officer; Cindy Holland leading streaming services Paramount+ and Pluto TV; Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein co-leading Paramount Pictures; and Paramount Global veteran George Cheeks leading television networks. It was also announced the same day that the company would comprise 3 major units: studios (consisting of Paramount Pictures, Skydance Pictures, Nickelodeon Movies and other divisions such as those for film, television and video games), direct-to-consumer (Paramount+ and Pluto TV) and television media (CBS, BET, MTV, Nickelodeon among others). It also announced the merger of Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Skydance Television into a revival of Paramount Television Studios to be headed by Matt Thunell. Oversight of the television units would be split, with Thunell heading the studios division (focusing on the streaming services) and George Cheeks overseeing production for the television media division (focusing on the linear networks), as well as South Park, which renewed its standing with Paramount in a deal worth $1.5 billion. Three months later in October following Paramount Skydance's relaunch of Paramount Television Studios, it was announced that Nickelodeon Group's live-action studio Nickelodeon/Awesomeness Live-Action aka Nickelodeon Productions and Awesomeness' production studio including Nickelodeon's & Awesomeness' production slates was folded into Paramount Television Studios, with the relaunched studio taking over Nickelodeon's current production slate alongside Awesomeness' current productions, and would produce their future production slates beginning with the upcoming Victorious spin-off series Hollywood Arts which was originally ordered at Nickelodeon had moved to Netflix as its first Nickelodeon-branded series produced by the revived studio.
On August 5, 2025, Paramount Skydance announced layoffs of around 1,000 employees and a slashing of $2 billion in operating costs, alongside interest in a merger of Paramount+ and Pluto TV with assist from Oracle Corporation. On August 7, Jeff Shell announced that Paramount Skydance was exploring a sale of the NAI cinemas. On August 8, Paramount announced that they would be based in the Paramount Pictures lot in Los Angeles, departing from One Astor Plaza for the first time since the first Viacom moved there in 1994. On August 11, Paramount announced a seven-year deal with TKO Group Holdings where Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will be exclusively distributed in the United States. UFC's 13 marquee numbered events and 30 "Fight Nights" will air on its streaming platform, Paramount+, with select numbered events also set to simulcast on CBS starting in 2026.
Departure of Jeff Shell and merger with Warner Bros. Discovery
In September 2025, The Wall Street Journal and others reported that Paramount Skydance was weighing a takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, a deal that, unlike the Skydance–Paramount tie-up, was expected to sidestep Federal Communications Commission review because WBD holds no broadcast licenses. The idea drew immediate political scrutiny, with Senator Elizabeth Warren urging regulators to stop it, while price talk swung widely: early chatter reached about $70 billion, mid-month commentary pointed to the mid-$50 billion range, and by September 19 reporting centered on scenarios "north of" $45 billion alongside a potential $22–$24 per-share offer structure that could be 70–80% cash, with support from Larry Ellison. By September 29, CNBC's David Faber suggested a friendly agreement looked unlikely and that Paramount might need to take any bid directly to WBD shareholders.
Industry voices spent the month debating what such a combination would mean. UTA chief David Kramer called it a mixed prospect for Hollywood, and FX Networks chairman John Landgraf predicted that large-scale consolidation among legacy studios was essentially unavoidable. Strategically, observers noted the sheer scale on offer: Paramount Skydance's roughly 4,500-film (including the entire of Miramax, pre-2005 Dimension Films, pre-February 1952 United Artists and pre-2011 DreamWorks Pictures libraries), 200,000-episode library (including the CBS/Paramount Television, Spelling Television, Big Ticket Television and libraries from the cable networks alongside the pre-1973 programming libraries of NBC and ABC) alongside Warner Bros.' catalog of about 10,000 films (including the pre-May 1986 MGM and pre-May 1982 Orion Pictures libraries) and 120,000 episodes (including the Turner, HBO, Discovery and Scripps legacy libraries). Much industry speculation centred around how this could change competition, and the line-up of streaming services such as Pluto TV. Financially, late-month research cautioned that even post-deal, most earnings power would still come from traditional TV: Bernstein Research estimated roughly 70% of EBITDA would be tied to linear networks, even as KPMG highlighted US content spend surpassing $200 billion and continuing to rise.
On December 5, Netflix announced that they would be buying the Warner Bros. streaming and studio company for $72 billion after the split closes in the third quarter, valuing WBD at $82.7 billion. Although Netflix ultimately won the bidding process, the transaction was still subject to regulatory approval in multiple jurisdictions. Amid the ongoing antitrust review, reports indicated that Paramount Skydance might consider launching a hostile takeover bid should the approval process create an opening. Three days later, Paramount launched a hostile takeover bid of WBD for an enterprise value of $108.4 billion. Paramount argued its $30 per share all-cash offer was superior to the $27.75 per share offer from Netflix, and that a combination with Paramount faced lower regulatory hurdles. On December 11, Paramount Skydance was considering raising its takeover offer for Warner Bros. Discovery by as much as 10% as it plots its next move to break up a merger agreement with Netflix. The new offer of Warner Bros. for Paramount would now be $33 per share for $90 billion, while the new offer of Warner Bros. for Netflix would now be $30.75 per share for $86 billion. On December 17, WBD told its shareholders to reject Paramount's bid, instead proceeding with the Netflix acquisition.
Company units
Paramount Skydance comprises 3 major business segments:
Paramount Skydance Studios consists of the company's film and television production studios.
Paramount Motion Picture Group focuses on theatrical film production and distribution, including film releases under Paramount Pictures, the company's namesake division and flagship label as well as the Paramount Animation, Paramount Players, Paramount Primal and Nickelodeon Movies labels. Other assets include Skydance Animation (and its animation studio division, Skydance Animation Madrid), Republic Pictures and a 49% stake in Miramax. Paramount Pictures also consists of Paramount Studio Group (physical studio and post-production), production facilities and lot, and archives for restoration/preservation for Paramount Home Entertainment and Music.
Paramount Television Group which consists of Paramount Television Studios and CBS Studios (including BET Studios and Nickelodeon Animation Studio (including Avatar Studios)), both focusing on television production.
Paramount Experiences focuses on the retailing and licensing of merchandising for Paramount Consumer Products, and also consists of some theme parks, and gaming at Paramount Games Studio.
Paramount Sports Entertainment focuses on scripted and unscripted sports programming, as well as interactive sports games and experiences. The division also oversees Skydance Sports, a joint venture with the NFL.
Paramount Skydance Direct-to-Consumer focuses on the global over-the-top streaming services, and encompasses Paramount+, Pluto TV, SkyShowtime (50% with Comcast through Sky Group), CBS News 24/7, CBS Sports HQ, and an undisclosed stake in FuboTV, which it acquired in 2020.
Paramount Skydance TV Media encompasses the company's domestic and international linear television channels. The division also oversees See It Now Studios and a 50% stake in South Park Digital Studios.
Leadership
Board of directors
Source:
David Ellison (chairman)
Barbara Byrne
Andy Campion
Gerry Cardinale
Safra Catz
Justin G. Hamill
Andy Gordon
Sherry Lansing
Paul Marinelli
John L. Thornton
Executives
David Ellison, chairman and CEO
Jay Askinasi, chief revenue officer
George Cheeks, chairman of TV media
Dennis K. Cinelli, chief financial officer
Makan Delrahim, chief legal officer
Dane Glasgow, chief product officer
Dana Goldberg, co-chair of Paramount Pictures and chair of Paramount Television
Andy Gordon, chief strategy officer and chief operating officer
Josh Greenstein, co-chair of Paramount Pictures and vice chair of Platforms
Stephanie Kyoko McKinnon, general counsel
Jim Sterner, chief people officer
Melissa Zukerman, chief communications officer