Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery will operate as Skydance after their merger closes, Paramount CEO David Ellison announced Friday. Skydance is the name of Ellison’s original film production company.
The deal of around 110 billion dollars is expected to close on October 6. It will combine two major Hollywood studios, Paramount + and HBO Max, and networks including CBS, CNN, MTV, TBS, Comedy Central, and Food Network. Skydance will also control franchises such as “The Lord of the Rings”, “Game of Thrones”, the DC universe and “Yellowstone”.
The merger follows a drawn-out corporate battle. Netflix had agreed to Warner Bros. Streaming and studio deals before the wider Paramount deal goes ahead. Twelve states challenged the deal, arguing it could reduce competition and harm consumers and workers, but a judge this week approved a settlement with state prosecutors.
Ellison said the Paramount and Warner Bros. “We never wanted a new corporate identity to either reduce, change or overshadow one,” he wrote on X. The new name, he said, will give the company “an identity of its own” while keeping the two studios “in the spotlight.”