Paramount Skydance is buying Warner Bros.

HBO Max and Paramount Plus will become one streaming service under Paramount’s $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. In a press release announcing the completion of the deal, Skydance — the name of the combined companies — says both streamers will “unify into a single service over time.”

Skydance CEO David Ellison hinted at this possibility in March, saying during a call with investors that merging Paramount Plus and HBO Max would give the combined companies “a little over 200 million direct-to-consumer subscribers.” There are still no details about the timing of this change, or the name of the merged streamers, which HBO CEO Casey Bloys will oversee.

Paramount has completed its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, forming a combined company known as Skydance. The merger officially puts Paramount and WBD’s film studios, along with major networks and brands like HBO, CBS News, and CNN, under one roof.

The road to the media megamerger has been a rocky one for Paramount, which secured an agreement in February after waging a months-long battle against Netflix for WBD. Since then, it has faced criticism from both lawmakers and Hollywood talent about the negative impact of media consolidation.

CNN CEO Mark Thompson will remain at the head of the news network when Paramount’s $110 billion Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition closes this week. Thompson wrote in a memo to employees that he believes the combined company will “fully support the principle and practice of the kind of independent news that CNN has always stood for,” according to a report from The New York Times. The news comes as part of an announcement detailing the combined company’s executive leadership.

Paramount CEO David Ellison will lead the companies — to be called Skydance — alongside former Mattel head Ynon Kreiz. Speculation about what would become of CNN swirled following the news of the media megamerger, which puts WBD’s CNN and Paramount’s CBS News under the same roof. As part of a settlement reached with 12 states, Skydance must adopt a news editorial independence board.

Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison has announced that the company will just be called Skydance when it completes its $110 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery next week. In a post on X, Ellison writes that “we wanted a name that would give the combined company an identity of its own while allowing Paramount and Warner Bros. — and all our extraordinary brands — to remain in the spotlight.”

Earlier this week, a judge approved the settlement Paramount reached with California and 11 other states that sued over the planned acquisition, clearing the last major hurdle blocking the deal. Under the deal, Paramount must release a minimum number of theatrical films over the next five years, starting with 30 annually in years one and two.

Paramount is appointing a new co-CEO ahead of the close of its $110 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery. Ynon Kreiz, previously Mattel’s chairman and CEO, will be joining Paramount to lead alongside chairman and CEO David Ellison.

According to Paramount, “Ellison will focus on the company’s long-term strategy, creative vision and direction, including its talent relationships, strategic partnerships, technology and capital allocation. Kreiz will focus on the company’s day-to-day management and integration of the combined businesses.” The combined Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery will “report jointly” to Ellison and Kreiz.

Now that Paramount has reached a settlement with the 12 states that were suing to block its $110 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), the studio is even closer to becoming one of the world’s biggest production houses. In addition to spending at least $300 million more on film and TV projects produced in the US, Paramount says that it will release a minimum of 30 movies annually after it absorbs WBD. On paper, these goals make it sound like Paramount is trying to ensure that the entertainment industry won’t be harmed by its WBD acquisition. But when you look at the studios’ recent output, it seems very much like Paramount CEO David Ellison is making promises to the public that he might not be able to keep.

In a statement about the settlement, California Attorney General Rob Bonta stressed that the settlement was designed to maintain consistent film output and domestic production while “protecting the livelihoods of workers above and below the line.” (Of course, any redundancies caused by a merger of this scale will likely lead to layoffs, which makes Bonta’s claim that the settlement “protects workers, jobs, and Hollywood” questionable in the first place.) In a statement of their own, Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) president Sean Astin and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland thanked Bonta and noted that the settlement represents “the lowest standards that our employers must meet.”

Paramount has reached a settlement with California and the 11 other states that sued to block its planned $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The settlement removes a major roadblock standing in the way of the massive media merger.

According to the proposed consent decree filed with the court, it includes requirements like minimum numbers of theatrical film releases over the next five years, starting with 30 in years one and two and 32 in the following years, and a commitment to spend at least $300 million more on production in the US compared to what the companies spent in 2025. At least four of the films produced must be independent films, and at least 20 percent must be “tentpole” blockbuster movies with $50 million-plus budgets and releases on a minimum of 3,000 US screens within the first month.

A judge partially granted the request from a dozen state attorneys general to temporarily place the $110 billion merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery on hold, as reported by Variety and Reuters. US District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín said that based on the new company’s market share, “the Court is persuaded that it can presume the proposed merger is likely to violate antitrust laws,” and that the states showed “irreparable harm” could occur without a temporary restraining order.

A week ago, California, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Washington sued to block the deal for 28 days, saying the newly created “media behemoth” would harm competition, and that if the deal is allowed to close, then the companies could start hard-to-undo actions like layoffs and information sharing.

A dozen state attorneys general are trying to block the $110 billion merger of Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery they warn would raise movie prices and crush cable TV distributors.

The states — California, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Washington — filed suit on Monday, arguing the combination would illegally harm competition and create a “media behemoth.” Last month, the Justice Department declined to block the merger in a decision that The Wall Street Journal reported surprised career staff who were leaning toward recommending a lawsuit. In an exit interview with Politico, former DOJ acting antitrust chief Omeed Assefi rejected the report as “not accurate.”

Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield had been seeking documents from Paramount related to its takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. Rayfield also asked a state circuit court judge to delay the closing of the deal by 60 days so that his office could review the documents. But according to Deadline and Variety, he’s now dropped his civil investigative demand for the records.

Obviously, Paramount is pleased with Rayfield’s decision to withdraw his request, but the AG’s office isn’t exactly satisfied with the outcome.