After a year of negotiations, false starts, and internal and external politicking, the question of who will run the combined mega-studio created by Paramount acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery has been answered.
The company, which will be known as Skydance, has unveiled its executive structure, led bo David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz. See below:
A complete list of the Companyâs new Executive Leadership Team (ELT) will be issued soon after close.
âIâm incredibly proud to introduce the team that will lead Skydance forward, a group that reflects the ambition behind this historic combination,â Ellison said. Together, Paramount and Warner Bros. will form a creative-first home with the scale, imagination and technology to define entertainment for a generation. The leaders joining me have built some of the most beloved franchises and businesses in the industry, and they share a deep respect for the creative process and a belief that great stories have the power to entertain, unite and inspire audiences around the world. Their talent, experience and ambition are exactly what this moment demands, and together we will build a next-generation global media company that leads the industry in creative excellence and innovation, and delivers for audiences, creators, partners and shareholders alike.â
This comes just over a year after news broke that Paramount was exploring a deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, a month after David Ellisonâs Skydance closed its $8.4B deal to buy Paramount.
News of who will run the newly combined company, which brings together brands such as Harry Potter, Mission Impossible, Friends and Yellowstone, has started to emerge over the last week.
On September 30, former Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz, who was also previously CEO of Endemol, was named Co-CEO of the company alongside David Ellison.
This came after Cindy Holland, who was Paramountâs Chair of Direct-to-Consumer, ostensibly running Paramount+, revealed she was stepping down ahead of the deal closing. Hollandâs departure answered one of the biggest questions heading into the combination: who would lead streaming.
That move telegraphed that Casey Bloys, who was Chairman and CEO of HBO and HBO Max Content, was in line for this major new role at the new company, as indicated in Hollandâs departure note to colleagues. âDavid is optimizing for HBO stability,â she wrote.
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