Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery merger will create media giant ‘Skydance’

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The media giant created by the expected merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery will be called Skydance, Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison announced Friday.

The merger is expected to close Tuesday, October 6th. The combined company’s legal name will become Skydance Corporation that day, according to a regulatory filing.

Ellison said the Paramount and Warner Bros. studios and their other brands will retain their own identities under the new corporate name. The combined company will span film, television, news, cable, and streaming, bringing CBS, CNN, Paramount+, HBO Max, and the studios behind franchises including “Mission: Impossible” and “Harry Potter” under one corporate parent.

A federal judge cleared the way for the deal last week by approving a settlement between Paramount Skydance and 12 states that had sued to block the merger on antitrust grounds.

The acquisition is valued at about $110 billion. The combined company is expected to carry roughly $80 billion in debt and is targeting $6 billion in cost savings.

Ellison founded Skydance Media in 2010 and acquired Paramount in 2025. He will lead the combined company alongside co-CEO Ynon Kreiz, who has been tasked with overseeing day-to-day operations and the integration of the two businesses.

Skydance’s Class B shares are also expected to move from Nasdaq to the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday and begin trading under the ticker symbol SKYD.