Skydance to lead Paramount merger

Skydance Media CEO David Ellison will lead the new company as chief executive after its merger with Paramount Global is completed by August 7, the independent studio said on Monday, reported Reuters.

After the deal closes, the company is expected to be structured into three primary business segments — studios, direct-to-consumer and TV media.

Former NBCUniversal chief executive, Jeff Shell, will become president of Paramount, overseeing day-to-day operations. Andy Gordon, a veteran of Goldman Sachs, will serve as chief operating officer. Both join the media company from RedBird Capital Partners, Skydance's financial partner on the Paramount transaction.

Paramount co-CEO George Cheeks will remain with the company as its chair of media, overseeing its broadcast and cable television business.

Netflix veteran Cindy Holland will chair its direct-to-consumer business, overseeing the company's Paramount+ and PlutoTV streaming services.

Skydance's chief creative officer, Dana Goldberg, will serve as co-chair of Paramount Pictures with Josh Greenstein, the former president of Sony Pictures' motion picture group.

Tom Ryan, the president and CEO of Paramount Streaming, will be leaving the company. He co-founded PlutoTV, the free streaming service that helped popularise so-called FAST channels, for free ad-supported streaming television.

In a statement, Ellison hailed the new executive team as equipped "to deliver on our bold vision for a new Paramount." He has previously pitched his view of Paramount as a "tech hybrid" media firm that will prioritize expanding the Paramount+ streaming service to better compete in the crowded direct-to-consumer video market.

The Federal Communications Commission cleared the merger last month, just weeks after Paramount settled a lawsuit filed by US President Donald Trump over CBS' editing of a 60 Minutes interview with his Democratic opponent, former Vice President Kamala Harris.

The merger was largely necessitated by the persistent decline of the traditional cable TV business as audiences rapidly abandon linear TV in favour of streaming platforms, forcing Paramount to take nearly USD6 billion in write-downs on cable assets.