David Ellison wasted no time adding the Skydance name to Warner Bros.’ iconic water tower. in Burbank.
On Tuesday morning, shortly after Paramount officially closed its $111 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery to form Skydance, the famous monument of the Warner Bros. studio. has been updated with a new line: “A Skydance Corporation”.
There is precedent for this move: After Ellison closed Skydance Media’s takeover of Paramount Global in August 2025, the water tower on the Paramount Pictures Studios lot in Hollywood was updated to also add “A Skydance Corporation.” This indicates, incidentally, that Ellison’s plan all along was to rename a Paramount-WBD merger to Skydance, the name of the film production company he founded in 2006.
Here’s a photo of workers adding the Skydance name to the WB water tower:
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The merger, which was opposed by many actors, filmmakers and other industry professionals, brings together the two major studios; Television networks including CBS, CNN, Comedy Central, MTV and TNT; and streaming services Paramount+ and HBO Max. The new Skydance will generate annual revenue of nearly $70 billion, according to the company, but it will also have to manage to pay down some $80 billion in net debt.
The Ellison family, with the support of Larry Ellison, David’s multi-billionaire father, owns the largest stake in Skydance. The Ellisons and investment firm RedBird Capital Partners are together the sole holders of Paramount’s Class A common stock, giving them 100% control of the combined company’s voting stock.
David Ellison, who is Skydance’s new chairman and CEO, and co-CEO Ynon Kreiz (former Mattel CEO) sent a lengthy memo to employees of the combined company on Tuesday morning. They outlined their goals for Skydance, while acknowledging that there will be job cuts following the integration of Paramount and Warner Bros. operations.
“The integration of two companies will result in changes, including difficult decisions that will affect our workforce,” the executives wrote in the memo, a copy of which was obtained by Variety. “We are committed to managing this process in a thoughtful and respectful manner. »
At a town hall meeting Tuesday with employees of former Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery, which was broadcast live around the world, Ellison and Kreiz also gave a speech from Los Angeles.
“Let’s be honest, it wasn’t easy getting here,” Ellison told staff at the new Skydance, according to a source. “Sometimes it was downright ugly. And almost every moment, someone told us it wasn’t possible. And here we are.” He continued, “I’m not telling you this to relive it. I’m telling you because every setback, every difficult night, every moment where it would have been easier to walk away, was worth it. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Why? Because of what we can now build together.”
The town hall included a question-and-answer session with the two leaders, moderated by CNN anchor Anderson Cooper.
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