David Ellison Clinches $8B Paramount-Skydance Merger, Pledges Hollywood Shake-Up

David Ellison has officially taken the reins of a re-imagined entertainment giant after Skydance Media closed its $8 billion merger with Paramount Global in the early hours of Thursday. The deal ushers in the newly branded Paramount-Skydance Corp., positioning the 41-year-old Ellison as chief executive of a studio with a century of Hollywood heritage and a war chest aimed at streaming, gaming, and next-generation tech initiatives. Skydance-Paramount: what changes on “Day One” • Leadership shake-up: Former NBCUniversal head Jeff Shell becomes president, while ex-Netflix content chief Cindy Holland takes over programming. Industry veterans Sherry Lansing and Safra Catz join a newly expanded board that will be 100 percent voting-controlled by the Ellison family, underpinned by financing from Oracle founder Larry Ellison. • Debt reduction plan: Skydance is injecting $1.5 billion in fresh equity and refinancing roughly $6 billion of Paramount debt, a move analysts say gives the combined company “breathing room” to compete with Disney, Netflix, and Amazon. • Streaming overhaul: Paramount+ and Pluto TV will be folded into a single, global app by mid-2026, according to an internal memo circulated after the closing. Ellison promises “friction-free” bundling with Apple TV+, where Skydance already co-produces multiple series. Why Ellison wanted Paramount Ellison’s Skydance has been a reliable supplier of blockbuster IP—from Mission: Impossible and Top Gun to recent animated hit Spellbound. By owning Paramount outright, he gains full franchise control, a 5,000-film library, CBS, Nickelodeon, BET, and South Park streaming rights—assets that can feed theme-park, gaming, and VR divisions Skydance has quietly built since 2022. Market reaction and Wall Street outlook Paramount-Skydance shares (ticker: PARA) jumped 14 percent in pre-market trading as investors cheered the debt pay-down and fresh capital; Moody’s placed the new entity on review for a potential upgrade. “This is the rare media deal that de-leverages on day one,” noted Bank of America analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich. Regulatory hurdles cleared in record time The FCC and DOJ both signed off within six months, helped by Ellison’s pledge to preserve CBS News’ editorial independence and maintain Viacom’s U.S. workforce for at least 18 months. What happens next 1. Content slate reveal at September investor day—expect updates on Top Gun 3, Star Trek 4, and a Paramount+ flagship drama from Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan. 2. Asset sales: BET, Pluto’s ad-tech arm, and UK broadcaster Channel 5 are on the block to fund streaming expansion in Latin America. 3. AI production tools: Skydance’s in-house “SkyGen” pipeline will roll out across Paramount soundstages to cut VFX costs by up to 30 percent over three years. Quote of the day “Today marks Day One of a new Paramount—rooted in legacy, focused on the future,” Ellison said in a company-wide webcast from the Paramount lot’s iconic Bronson Gate. Industry impact The tie-up could accelerate consolidation among mid-tier studios, with Lionsgate and AMC Networks widely seen as next takeover targets. For consumers, analysts forecast “fewer but bigger” streaming bundles, while creative guilds brace for another round of contract negotiations over AI and back-end participation tied to Skydance’s tech-heavy roadmap. Bottom line David Ellison, once labeled the “heir apparent” to Hollywood’s next chapter, now controls one of its oldest brands. Whether Paramount-Skydance can turn library riches and tech ambitions into sustainable profit will define the next act of the streaming wars—and Ellison’s own legacy—in the years ahead.