US
Paramount and Warner Bros. close $111 billion merger, putting CNN and CBS News under one owner
David Ellison's new company, Skydance, now controls two century-old studios, HBO Max, Paramount+ and two of the country's biggest newsrooms. Critics warn of layoffs and political pressure.
Hollywood has a new giant. Paramount-Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery completed their $111 billion merger this week, creating a combined company called Skydance that controls two of the oldest film studios in America, a stack of major streaming and cable brands, and two of the nation's largest television news operations.
"From the start, our ambition was to bring these two storied studios together and create a stronger competitor," chairman and CEO David Ellison said in a statement announcing the close. "Now that ambition is a reality."
What Skydance now owns
The deal puts Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures, both more than 100 years old, under one roof, along with the streaming services Paramount+ and HBO Max and cable networks including MTV, Comedy Central and the Food Network. Ellison has boasted of a library of about 15,000 films, from Harry Potter and the DC Universe to Top Gun, Mission: Impossible and The Godfather. On the television side, the company gains shows ranging from Ted Lasso and The Daily Show to Star Trek and the classic Looney Tunes catalog.
Most notably for many Americans, Skydance now owns both CNN and CBS News.
Ellison controls the company with backing from his father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, and investors from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Middle Eastern countries. He has named former Mattel chief Ynon Kreiz as co-CEO. Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy, who ran Warner Bros. Pictures and celebrated Oscar wins last year for Sinners and One Battle After Another, are out.
A long fight to get here
The merger survived months of protests and legal challenges in the U.S. and Europe. The Writers Guild of America and 12 state attorneys general sued to block it and lost. As part of a settlement with the states, Ellison agreed that the combined studios will release 30 films a year for the next few years.
To win over a federal judge in the antitrust case, Ellison also promised to create an independent oversight board meant to shield CNN from political interference. Skydance says CNN chief Mark Thompson will remain in his job, and Bari Weiss will continue to lead CBS News.
Worries about news, prices and jobs
Critics are not reassured. The Ellisons are seen as allies of President Trump, and media advocates fear the consolidation could chill independent reporting. "We're concerned about what the Ellisons have already done since taking over Paramount and CBS," said Jessica Gonzalez, co-CEO of the advocacy group Free Press, which helped lead a coalition against the deal.
Opponents also predict higher streaming prices, fewer choices for viewers, fewer risky films and series, and layoffs as overlapping departments are merged. Skydance is carrying heavy debt from the purchase, which analysts say will put pressure on the company to cut costs quickly.
What viewers will notice
In the short term, little will change on screens. Shows and movies will remain on their current platforms while the company decides whether to combine Paramount+ and HBO Max. Over the coming months, though, viewers can expect announcements about bundles, pricing and which brands survive.
For the thousands of people who work at the two companies, from writers and camera crews in Los Angeles to newsroom staff in New York and Atlanta, the first days under Skydance are filled with uncertainty about what the new era will bring.