David Ellison Names Skydance Corp.’s New Leadership Team for Movies, TV, Streaming and More — SkimNews
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- David Ellison will lead Skydance Corp. as chairman and CEO, with former Mattel chief Ynon Kreiz joining as co-CEO starting Monday; the merged divisions spanning two movie studios, TV networks, and streaming will report to both.
- Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein, previously co-chairs of Paramount Pictures, will run the film business — while Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group heads Pamela Abdy and Michael De Luca are not joining the new company.
- Casey Bloys (formerly HBO/HBO Max) becomes co-chair and chief content officer of Skydance DTC streaming, George Cheeks takes the same titles for Skydance TV, JB Perrette serves as co-chair and chief business officer across both, and Mark Thompson continues as CNN CEO.
- James Gunn and Peter Safran are named co-chairmen of DC Studios, while Bari Weiss is tapped as editor-in-chief of CBS News as part of the new CEO News Executive Leadership Team.
- The $111 billion merger deal, clinched in February 2026, cleared regulators in 68 countries and received final approval when a judge greenlit Paramount's lenient settlement with 12 states over an antitrust lawsuit blocking the deal.
- The combined Skydance will carry an estimated $80 billion-plus in net debt, with common stock set to begin trading on the NYSE under the ticker "SKYD" on Tuesday, Oct. 6.
Why it matters: The merged Skydance becomes one of the most debt-laden media companies in existence — over $80 billion in net debt on day one — while consolidating two legacy Hollywood studios, premium cable (HBO), broadcast news (CBS, CNN), and DC's film slate under a single command structure that includes the notable ouster of Warner's film chiefs Abdy and De Luca.
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