Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery will sit under a new parent company called Skydance when their major merger is completed next week.
Chairman and CEO David Ellison announced the name on October 2, revealing that the combined company will adopt the Skydance identity while Paramount and Warner Bros. continue operating as major individual brands.
The change is expected to officially take effect on October 6, 2026, the same day Paramount expects its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery to close.
Why Is The New Company Called ‘Skydance’?
Ellison said the company wanted a new corporate identity without diminishing the history of either Paramount or Warner Bros.
Rather than combining the two studio names, the existing Skydance name will sit above both businesses as the identity of the wider company.
Paramount and Warner Bros. will therefore continue to exist as recognisable film and television brands alongside businesses including HBO, DC Studios, CBS, CNN, Paramount+ and HBO Max.
The announcement was accompanied by new corporate branding bringing together franchises and productions from across both sides of the merger.
When Will Paramount And Warner Bros. Merge?
Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery announced on September 30 that the transaction is expected to close on October 6, subject to the remaining customary closing conditions.
The deal brings together two of Hollywood’s biggest film and television groups, combining major studio, television, news and streaming operations under the same parent company.
The merger recently cleared one of its final legal hurdles after a US federal judge approved a settlement relating to an antitrust challenge brought by a group of states.
Skydance Will Also Get A New Stock Ticker
Paramount has also confirmed in an SEC filing that the company intends to legally change its name to Skydance Corporation on October 6.
Its Class B common stock is expected to move from Nasdaq to the New York Stock Exchange at the same time, with the existing PSKY ticker replaced by SKYD.
That means the Skydance name will not simply be branding for the merged studios. It will also become the legal corporate identity of the company sitting above Paramount and Warner Bros.
Who Will Run Skydance?
Ellison will remain chairman and CEO of the combined company, focusing on long-term strategy, creative direction, talent relationships, technology and capital allocation.
Former Mattel chairman and CEO Ynon Kreiz will join as co-CEO, with responsibility for day-to-day management and the integration of the Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery businesses.
The new structure will put an enormous collection of franchises and businesses under the same corporate umbrella, spanning DC, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Mission: Impossible, Star Trek, Nickelodeon, HBO, CBS and the company’s major streaming services.
Despite the new corporate name, both Paramount and Warner Bros. will remain central consumer-facing brands. From October 6, however, the company sitting above them is expected to be called Skydance.
Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery currently expect their merger to close on October 6, 2026.
