New name unveiled for Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery after merger approval
At long last, the soon-to-merge Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery has a name: Skydance.
The combined entity’s CEO David Ellison, who has shepherded the deal throughout this year, announced the new name on a freshly created X account on Friday. The name was chosen to give the combined entity, which will include Atlanta-based CNN, TNT and TBS among its properties, “an identity of its own.”
The name didn’t come out of the ether. Skydance is the name of the production company Ellison founded in 2006, which merged with Paramount in August 2025 to form Paramount Skydance.
The merger is expected to close Oct. 6, creating one of the largest entertainment companies in the world and bringing an end to a deal that has rankled power players in the entertainment industry since it was initially announced in February.
A federal judge in California approved the $110 billion deal on Wednesday, less than two weeks after Paramount settled with a coalition of states suing to block the merger. That same day, Mattel’s CEO Ynon Kreiz was announced as co-CEO of the combined entity, to start Oct. 5.
Skydance’s portfolio will span the Warner Bros. and Paramount studios, Atlanta-based TNT and TBS, Discovery, HBO, HGTV, and other cable networks, along with intellectual property such as DC Comics and the Harry Potter film franchise. Two separate streaming services are included in the merger. Plans to either combine or bundle the two services haven’t been publicly announced yet.
The combined company will have two major news operations under its belt: Atlanta’s own CNN and CBS News, which it intends to keep separate, at least for now. As part of Paramount’s antitrust settlement, it has agreed to establish a board to ensure the news organizations remain editorially independent. CNN’s CEO Mark Thompson has been asked by Ellison to stay at the helm of the organization after the acquisition closes, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.