One company's name now sits over DC, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Mission: Impossible, The Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, plus Looney Tunes and SpongeBob SquarePants. The list reads like half of Hollywood's library just changed address — and the thing that made it happen is a deal nearly a year in the making, worth $11 billion.
The deal officially closed today, with the merged entity of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery taking the name Skydance. Beyond the two major film studios, TV networks like CBS, CNN, MTV, and Comedy Central, along with streaming platforms HBO Max and Paramount+, all now fall under the same company. TNT, Adult Swim, Cartoon Network, and Nickelodeon are on the list too. According to Skydance's press release, the company has committed to releasing 30 theatrical films a year, along with more than 180 TV series and shows.
The name Skydance wasn't picked on a whim. Last week, Ellison announced the new company would keep this name — the same one he used when he founded his first production company back in 2006. This acquisition of Warner Bros. follows Skydance's $8 billion purchase of Paramount last summer, where it beat out competition from Netflix, making this the second move in the same playbook.
The stock market has switched tickers too. Skydance began trading on the New York Stock Exchange today under SKYD, while Warner Bros. Discovery's stock has stopped trading on Nasdaq. Per figures released by the company, the merged entity will post nearly $70 billion in annual revenue — but according to Variety, the merger also saddles the company with $80 billion in debt right out of the gate.
Skydance CEO David Ellison said in a statement: "Today is a historic day, not just for Skydance, but for the entire industry. From the beginning, our ambition was to bring these two storied studios together to build a stronger competitor — one with the talent, resources, and reach to tell great stories across every genre and every platform for audiences around the world. Now, that ambition is a reality."
