Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery are preparing to officially become one company, and the combined business will be known as Skydance once the merger is completed.
Paramount chairman and CEO David Ellison announced the new corporate name on Friday, October 2, just days before the expected closing of the roughly $110 billion transaction. The deal is currently scheduled to close on October 6, subject to the remaining closing conditions.
The Skydance name comes from Ellison's existing film and television production company, Skydance Media. The company was founded in 2010 and has worked on major productions including the “Mission: Impossible” and “Top Gun” franchises.
Despite the new corporate identity, Paramount and Warner Bros. will not disappear as entertainment brands. They will continue operating as recognizable names within the larger Skydance organization.
Ellison said the decision was made to create a unified identity without replacing the histories of the two studios.
“We never wanted a new corporate identity to diminish, alter or overshadow either one,” he wrote on X. He said the Skydance name gives the combined company “an identity of its own” while allowing both studios to “remain in the spotlight.”
The merger will create a vast entertainment company combining two of Hollywood's major studio operations, their streaming platforms and a wide range of television networks.
Paramount+ and HBO Max will sit within the same corporate structure, while the company's television portfolio will include CBS, CNN, MTV, TBS, Comedy Central and Food Network, among others.
The combined company will also control an extensive collection of major entertainment franchises.
Its portfolio will include properties such as “Mission: Impossible,” “Top Gun,” “Yellowstone,” “Game of Thrones,” “The Lord of the Rings,” “Harry Potter,” the DC Universe and Nickelodeon.
The transaction has taken months to complete and faced significant regulatory scrutiny in the United States.
Twelve U.S. states had challenged the deal on antitrust grounds, arguing that the merger could reduce competition and potentially affect consumers and workers. A federal judge approved a settlement involving the states, clearing the way for the transaction to move toward its expected October 6 closing.
The merger has also received regulatory clearance in numerous jurisdictions around the world. Paramount said in August that the transaction had secured approvals in nearly 70 countries and jurisdictions.
The combined company will have a new leadership structure as it begins operating as Skydance.
Ellison will remain chairman and CEO and will focus on the company's broader strategy, creative direction and technology. Ynon Kreiz, the outgoing Mattel chairman and CEO, will serve as co-CEO and oversee day-to-day operations and the integration of the two businesses.
The new structure reflects the scale of the integration ahead. The company will need to bring together film studios, television networks, streaming platforms and a large collection of intellectual property while maintaining the individual identities of its major entertainment brands.
The deal also comes at a major turning point for Hollywood, where traditional studios are increasingly competing across theaters, streaming services, television and digital platforms.
Once the transaction closes, Skydance will become the corporate home for the combined Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery businesses.
For audiences, many of the familiar names are expected to remain. Paramount, Warner Bros., HBO and the other established brands will continue to serve as the recognizable faces of their respective entertainment businesses, while Skydance becomes the name of the company behind them.
The merger is expected to close on October 6, 2026, after which the combined company will officially operate under the Skydance name.
