David Ellison Names Skydance Team for Paramount-WBD

The Hollywood Reporter reports that David Ellison has picked the senior team that will run Skydance, the combined Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery company taking shape Tuesday. Ellison will be chairman and CEO, with former Mattel chief Ynon Kreiz as co-CEO, as previously announced.

Who runs what

Casey Bloys will run Skydance’s streaming business, adding Paramount+ and Pluto to his HBO Max duties. The film studios will be led by Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg, a job tied to a legal commitment to release 32 movies a year within two years. George Cheeks will oversee television, including linear channels and TV studios.

News and DC

Mark Thompson will stay at CNN. Thompson told CNN staff Monday that he and Ellison reached a new deal, answering one of the big open questions about the merger. Bari Weiss will keep running CBS News.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Thompson told CNN staff he is convinced Skydance leadership believes in news alongside entertainment and will support independent CNN journalism.

James Gunn and Peter Safran will keep running DC Studios. JB Perrette will take the co-chair and chief business officer roles at Skydance TV and Skydance DTC, leaving content, marketing and strategy to Bloys and Cheeks.

The big picture

Skydance will rival Disney and Netflix in scale, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Ellison said the combined company will be “a creative-first home with the scale, imagination and technology to define entertainment for a generation.” Kreiz said the team’s goals include making Skydance the premier Hollywood content engine and accelerating its direct-to-consumer platform.

• Casey Bloys
• David Ellison
• Mark Thompson
• Paramount+
• Skydance
• Warner Bros. Discovery