There’s officially a new Hollywood colossus in town.
David Ellison’s Paramount finalized its acquisition of Warner Bros. on Tuesday. Discovery, officially combining two legendary movie studios, a massive television network conglomerate, two major streaming services and multiple news agencies into a single player that the mogul hopes will allow it to compete with Disney and Netflix, not to mention Amazon, Apple and Google.
The new company is called Skydance (the same name as the studio Ellison founded 20 years ago), and the management team, led by Ellison and co-CEO Ynon Kreiz, will have a difficult task ahead: integrating two giants, paying off more than $80 billion in debt, and transforming the company into a technology-entertainment hybrid.
“Today is a historic day, not just for Skydance but for our entire industry. From the beginning, our ambition was to bring these two legendary studios together and create a stronger competitor, with the talent, resources and reach to tell great stories in every genre, on every platform, for audiences around the world,” Ellison said in a statement. “Now that ambition is a reality. We are grateful to everyone who made this possible – the employees, creative talent and production teams at both companies, who worked tirelessly to get us here and inspire audiences around the world every day, and the advisors and partners who guided this transaction to completion. Our focus now turns to the future: building a company that empowers creatives, entertains audiences and rewards shareholders. We couldn’t be more excited about get to work.”
“This is a defining moment for the industry,” added Gerry Cardinale, founder and managing partner of RedBird Capital and a director on the Skydance board. “By applying our owner-operator model to Paramount and WBD’s unrivaled portfolio of iconic franchises, premium original programming and live sports rights, we can protect this legacy while building a transforming media landscape. David, our co-CEO Ynon Kreiz and the rest of our world-class Skydance team have the vision and experience to lead this change. We are proud to support them as we build a stronger Hollywood, expand opportunities for talent and create value for long term for our shareholders.
But first they must rally the troops. There’s a staff meeting on the Warner lot today, and a press meeting later. In the coming days, Ellison and Kreiz are expected to ring the bell at the New York Stock Exchange, where Skydance shares will trade.
Executives sent an email titled “Day 1” to the combined company Tuesday morning. You can read it below.
Team,
Today we begin an exciting new chapter as Skydance.
Getting here has been quite a journey. Over the past year and beyond, it has taken hard work, perseverance and commitment, with many challenges along the way – but we did it! To everyone at both companies who helped us get to this moment: thank you. Thank you for your patience, your resilience and, above all, your belief in what we could accomplish together.
The merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery fulfills a vision that began with Skydance’s acquisition of Paramount: to build a next-generation media and entertainment company, powered by creativity and technology. The goal was never simply to add more production capacity, brands or intellectual property. It was about uniting the talent, resources and capabilities of these companies into a stronger competitor with the scale to take on the biggest players in our industry. Together, we will give these iconic studios the opportunity to win for generations to come.
Built for the future
As you all know, our industry is going through a period of profound change. Audiences have more choices than ever, technology is reshaping how stories are created, distributed and experienced, and competition for people’s time and attention has never been greater. We don’t just want to succeed in this environment: we want to win and help shape the future of the industry.
We want to lead.
And it starts with what we’re building together: a company that tells great stories in every genre, for audiences around the world, on every platform. A company that can compete in a crowded market and win globally, create lasting value for all stakeholders and strengthen the industry as a whole.
As owner-operators, we are in this for the long term, committed to building Skydance for the future – not just optimizing it for the next quarter or next year, but creating a business built to last, evolve and stay relevant. This means being creative, audience-focused, technologically-forward, and globally focused – building a thriving ecosystem where stories and worlds are imagined, brought to life, and experienced by audiences of all ages, everywhere.
At the center of it all is a clear purpose: to entertain, inspire and inform the world through extraordinary storytelling. And we will be guided at every step by shared priorities that shape how we intend to operate, how we make decisions, how we work together, and how we present ourselves to our audiences, our partners, and each other.
Our main priorities
To bring this mission to life, here are the priority areas in which we will focus our energy:
- Win in storytelling.
Great stories remain at the heart of everything we do. We will invest in the ideas, creators, franchises and experiences that will captivate audiences around the world and create lasting cultural impact. On the big screen, we are committed to making at least 30 films per year, combining original stories from today’s most exciting filmmakers with beloved franchises like Harry Potter, Mission: Impossible, Lord of the Rings, DC, Transformers and Star Trek. On television and streaming, that means telling stories like Game of Thrones, Landman, NCIS, Tracker and SpongeBob SquarePants. In games, that means worlds like Hogwarts Legacy and Mortal Kombat; and in live sports, that means NFL on CBS, UFC, UEFA and March Madness, just to name a few. - Become the most technologically successful media company.
Technology is fundamentally reshaping our industry and we intend to be at the forefront. We will use technology, data and emerging capabilities to improve the way we create, distribute and monetize content, from new production tools to personalization and entirely new ways for fans to engage with the stories they love. We will seize the opportunities offered by AI to expand what our creatives can imagine and make our businesses even more productive. The opportunities ahead are enormous and we intend to seize them. But one principle will never change: technology must be at the service of art, and never the other way around. - Navigate a crowded market.
We came together to create another major competitor in the industry. And with our scale, assets and global reach, we are well-positioned to take on some of the world’s largest technology and media companies and lead in an evolving entertainment landscape. We will use this strength to generate synergies, operate with discipline and invest in the long-term growth of our business. And we will go further than traditional synergies. By adopting the most advanced technologies available and integrating them into the way we operate, we will work smarter, act faster and unlock efficiencies that merger alone could not deliver. - Gain confidence every day.
Trust is fundamental to everything we do. And we are committed to earning it every day by communicating directly, delivering on our commitments, and listening carefully to those we serve and work with. This is critical to our reputation and long-term success.
As we work toward these goals, we must never lose sight of what matters most: our people. We will build a culture where people feel respected, empowered, supported and proud of the work they do. And we will extend this same commitment, with reliability and responsibility, to our creators, audiences, consumers, advertisers and partners.
Nothing we accomplish happens in a vacuum. It reflects everyone joining forces to unlock the full potential of our assets: an unrivaled portfolio of brands, franchises, libraries, intellectual property and creative talent, with decades of history and, in many cases, decades of opportunities yet to come.
Together, we can reach audiences across platforms, markets and generations in ways that neither Paramount nor WBD could have achieved alone. With the talent, scale, relationships and resources to draw on, we can create something truly distinctive.
For audiences, that means more choices and more ways to experience the stories they love. For creators, that means a partner with the scale and capabilities to help their best ideas reach the widest possible audience. For our partners, this means a broader, more powerful platform to build on. And for the broader creative community, that means an enduring commitment to storytelling and the people who make it possible.
This is the foundation of Skydance. And that’s why this combination is so important.
Honoring an Extraordinary Legacy
The union of these two iconic companies represents an exciting future. But just as important as what we build together is preserving what made them iconic in the first place. Paramount and Warner Bros. each have a distinct identity and an extraordinary heritage that deserves to stand on its own.
In choosing our corporate brand, we never intended to diminish, alter or eclipse any of the strengths that enjoy worldwide recognition and have stood the test of time. Both studios will continue to operate under their own names, and audiences will still see the Paramount mountain and the Warner Bros. shield. before the movies and shows they love.
Warner Bros. is rooted in modern entertainment history,…
Gn entert
