Paramount Skydance Corporation (PSKY)

Skydance Corporation, formerly named Paramount Skydance Corporation, completed its acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery on 6 October 2026 12.

Warner Bros Discovery survived the merger as a wholly owned subsidiary, and the company moved its Class B stock from Nasdaq to the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SKYD instead of PSKY 1.

The company says the combined business has nearly $70 billion in revenue and targets at least $6 billion in run-rate synergies, meaning yearly cost savings, within three years 2.

On 26 October the company's top executives told staff of a one-time voluntary buyout program and a five-day in-office policy, TheWrap reported 14.

The company is targeting more than $6 billion in cost savings, which includes an unspecified number of layoffs, according to TheWrap 14.

The deal was paid for with debt as well as equity: the company issued $41.4 billion of dollar notes and 885 million euros of euro notes on 5 October 1.

Variety reported that the combined company has to wrestle with $80 billion in net debt, and the company targets a net leverage ratio of 3.0 times by the end of 2029 132.

CBS News reported that the merger puts CBS News and CNN, and Paramount+ and HBO Max, under one owner 12.

An open question is how a court-ordered news independence board for CBS News and CNN will change how those networks are run 5.

The company in its present form dates from 7 August 2025 10. On that day entities controlled by the Ellison family and affiliates of RedBird Capital Partners bought National Amusements, the controlling stockholder of Paramount Global 10.

Paramount Global and Skydance then became wholly owned subsidiaries of the new holding company, Paramount Skydance Corporation, which had been formed on 3 June 2024 for the purpose 10.

Before that, the business was Paramount Global, a television and film group with a weakening cable business 10. Revenue was $29.65 billion in 2023 and $29.21 billion in 2024 10.

In 2024 the company recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $5.98 billion for its Cable Networks unit 10. Goodwill is the premium paid for past purchases, and an impairment writes it off when the business looks worth less 10.

The 10-K gives the reason: a downward adjustment to expected cash flows, mainly from signs in the linear affiliate market, the fees cable and satellite distributors pay to carry channels 10.

Net loss attributable to the company was $6.19 billion in the year of the impairment, against $608 million the year before 10.

In 2025, on a combined basis, advertising revenue fell 11 percent, with 6 points from the 2024 Super Bowl comparison and 2 from less political advertising 10.

Affiliate and subscription revenue grew 4 percent on the same basis, lifted by Paramount+ price rises and subscriber growth and held back by fewer cable and satellite households 10.

Paramount+ ended 2025 with 78.9 million subscribers, up 2.8 million from a year earlier 10.

The Warner Bros chase began on 8 December 2025 10. The company announced a cash tender offer, an offer made directly to shareholders, for all outstanding shares of Warner Bros Discovery 10.

Netflix was the rival bidder 13. Variety said Ellison met a rival Netflix deal and an antitrust lawsuit from 12 attorneys general on the way 13.

Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery signed a definitive merger agreement on 27 February 2026, after Warner's earlier agreement with Netflix was terminated and Paramount paid Netflix a $2.8 billion termination fee on Warner's behalf 8.

On 30 September 2026 a federal court entered a consent decree with the plaintiff states, which settled their lawsuit under Section 7 of the Clayton Act and let the merger close 5.

In the first quarter of 2026 the company moved to three reporting segments: TV Media, Direct-to-Consumer and Studios, the last combining its film business with its television studios 10.

In the second quarter, before the merger, revenue was $6.9 billion, up 1 percent from a year earlier, and adjusted EBITDA, a cash-style profit measure, was $1.1 billion, up 27 percent 9.

The pro forma statements furnished with the closing report put the preliminary purchase consideration at $97.2 billion, counting the $2.8 billion Netflix fee 11.

Studios

Studios makes films and television for the company's own platforms and for outside buyers 9. It includes Paramount Pictures, CBS Studios, Paramount Television Studios, Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Animation 9.

Paramount Pictures has made films since 1912 and owns franchises such as Mission: Impossible and Transformers 10.

In the second quarter Studios revenue rose 16 percent to $1.3 billion and adjusted EBITDA was $36 million, against a loss of $31 million a year earlier 9.

The company said it nearly doubled its theatrical slate from eight films in 2025 to 15 in 2026 and is on track for more than 15 in 2027 9.

Direct-to-Consumer

This segment holds the streaming services: Paramount+, a subscription service for sports, news and entertainment, Pluto TV, a free ad-supported service, and BET+, now folded into Paramount+ 109.

Paramount+ reached 81.6 million subscribers worldwide in the second quarter, the company said, helped by UFC fights and the FIFA World Cup in parts of Latin America 9.

Segment revenue rose 9 percent to $2.5 billion and adjusted EBITDA was $366 million, a 14.8 percent margin 9.

TV Media

TV Media runs the CBS Television Network, 29 owned local stations and cable brands such as MTV and BET 10. It also runs Network 10 in Australia and Channel 5 in the United Kingdom 10.

Its second-quarter revenue fell 9 percent to $3.1 billion, with advertising down 14 percent and affiliate fees down 6 percent as cable households keep shrinking 9.

Cost control kept profit high: adjusted EBITDA was $1.1 billion, a 34.0 percent margin against 26.4 percent a year earlier 9.

What Warner Bros. Discovery adds

The company lists the brands it now holds as Paramount, Warner Bros, HBO and HBO Max, Pluto TV, CBS, CNN, CBS Sports, TNT Sports, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, MTV, Food Network, BET, HGTV and Comedy Central 2.

It says it starts with more than 200 million streaming subscribers across platforms and about 180 television shows, and that its direct-to-consumer products are to unify into a single service over time 2.

The second-quarter figures above are for the company before the merger, as its August letter was written ahead of the closing 9.

Plants and property

The company owns the Paramount Pictures lot at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, about 62 acres, and the CBS Broadcast Center at 524 West 57th Street in New York, about 3.7 acres 10.

Its headquarters at 1515 Broadway in New York is leased, about 1.6 million square feet, with the lease running through 2031 10.

Under the states consent decree, the combined company may not sell or close the Paramount or the Warner Bros studio lot during the five-year commitment period 5.

The people in charge

David Ellison is chairman and chief executive 7. Ynon Kreiz, the former chief executive of Mattel, is co-chief executive and oversees day-to-day operations and the integration of the two companies 76.

The president is Andrew Brandon-Gordon, formerly chief strategy and chief operating officer 1. Dennis Cinelli is chief financial officer and Makan Delrahim is chief legal officer 1.

Robert Kotick, the former Activision Blizzard chief executive, and Laurene Powell Jobs, founder of Emerson Collective, joined the board when the deal closed 3.

At 31 December 2025 the company employed about 17,600 full- and part-time people in 30 countries, a count that predates the Warner Bros Discovery workforce 10.

Rivals

The company names Netflix, Amazon and Apple as the tech giants it competes with 9.

Netflix said in January that it ended 2025 with 325 million global subscribers, Deadline reported 15.

In its August letter the company said that, combined, it and Warner Bros Discovery would account for 13 percent of U.S. television and streaming viewing time 9.

Current problems

Debt is the largest problem 13. Variety reported $80 billion in net debt, and the company issued $11,983,970,000 of second-lien dollar notes and €546,547,000 of euro notes on 9 October in exchange for existing Warner Bros Discovery notes 134.

On 13 October the company distributed 470,746,773 warrants, which are rights to buy Class B shares, as a dividend to holders of record on 5 October 4.

Cable and satellite households keep falling, which pulls down TV Media revenue 9. Staff face layoffs, buyouts and a five-day office rule, and the company must meet the consent decree's film, cable and news terms 145.

The umbrella, in words

The brands are listed above: Paramount, Warner Bros, HBO, CBS, CNN, Nickelodeon, MTV, BET, Comedy Central, Food Network, HGTV and others, in three segments 2.

Warner Bros Discovery, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary, so it is owned in full, per the 8-K that records the merger on 6 October 2026 1.

The subsidiaries exhibit to the annual report, as of 31 January 2026, names among others Paramount Global, Skydance Media, LLC and Channel 5 Broadcasting Limited 17. It does not mark which are listed 17.

Stakes in others: the company reported a 50 percent interest in SkyShowtime, a European streaming service, at 31 December 2025, which is an ownership stake 10.

By contract, it holds exclusive long-term rights to distribute the library of Miramax, a joint venture with beIN Media Group, and sells films abroad through United International Pictures, a joint venture with Universal Studios 10.

Control, as the annual report dated 25 February 2026 puts it: Harbor Lights Entertainment held all of the Class A stock, the only class with votes 10. Ellison-family entities indirectly held about 77.5 percent of that Class A stock through Harbor Lights 10.

After the closing, the company said the Ellison family and RedBird Capital Partners together are the sole holders of Class A stock, which is all of the voting shares 2.

The new Class B equity was led by the Ellison family, RedBird, the Public Investment Fund, L'IMAD, the Qatar Investment Authority and LionTree 2. On 6 October, 3,917,657,246 Class B shares were issued to PIPE investors 1.

The company says it is targeting at least $6 billion in run-rate synergies within three years, mostly from technology, integration and procurement, marketing and real estate 2.

It also targets a net leverage of 3.0 times by the end of 2029 and says it expects more than $10 billion in free cash flow by 2030 2.

Its streaming products are meant to unify into a single service over time, and Ellison said on 2 March that the two portfolios would be combined into one platform over the coming years 215.

The consent decree binds the company for five years 5. It must release at least 30 films in each of the first two years and 32 in each of the next three 5.

Each counted film needs a theatrical window of at least 45 days 5. The company must also spend $300 million more a year on United States production than the two companies did in 2025 5.

Within 180 days of closing it must set up a five-member News Editorial Independence Board of journalists for CBS News and CNN, and it must keep Pluto TV or a replacement as a free service 5.

The memo to staff said a voluntary buyout program is a one-time offer, and that the five-day in-office policy will be phased by location with ample notice 14.

In its August letter, written before the merger, the company expected third-quarter revenue of $6.95 billion to $7.15 billion 9. It also expected full-year adjusted EBITDA of $3.8 billion to $3.9 billion, figures that leave out Warner Bros Discovery 9.

For 2027 the company said it is on track to release more than 15 films, including a fourth Sonic the Hedgehog film 9.