David Ellison outlines Skydance strategy after Warner Bros. Discovery deal
David Ellison told CNBC Skydance can compete across media businesses as it confronts debt, cost cuts and integration work.
By Daniel Okafor · Business Editor
2 min read
David Ellison’s Skydance strategy centers on the scale created by Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Ellison told CNBC on Thursday that the newly combined company was equipped to compete across all of its businesses, while its executives also set out the debt, cost-cutting and integration work ahead.
CNBC reported that the transaction closed Tuesday and that Ellison and Ynon Kreiz will run the company, called Skydance, as co-chief executives. Ellison, who is also chairman, said the combination gives the company a broad collection of entertainment assets and a larger streaming base.
What is David Ellison’s strategy for Skydance?
Ellison pointed to the combination of the Paramount and Warner Bros. film studios, the CBS broadcast network, cable channels including CNN, TNT, MTV and BET, sports programming, and the Paramount+ and HBO Max streaming services. He told CNBC the two streaming platforms together have more than 200 million global subscribers.
The management plan divides the work between the two executives, according to CNBC. Ellison will oversee creative direction, technology initiatives and longer-term strategy. Kreiz will be responsible for combining the businesses, daily management and operations.
Ellison has also said he intends to merge Paramount+ and HBO Max, CNBC reported. He said the company had already combined advertising sales across its platforms and was working to consolidate its back-end technology systems.
What challenges does Skydance face after the acquisition?
CNBC reported that Skydance has about $80 billion in debt tied to the merger and is targeting $6 billion in savings over three years. Kreiz said the savings are expected to come from technology, consolidated marketing, real-estate changes and labor.
Workforce reductions are part of the plan, Kreiz said, adding that the company would communicate its decisions and handle them respectfully and transparently. The executives did not present the planned savings as completed reductions.
The company also has commitments on movie releases. Under a settlement with state attorneys general who had challenged the acquisition, Skydance agreed to put at least 30 films into theaters in each of 2027 and 2028, followed by at least 32 films annually from 2029 through 2031, CNBC reported.
What did Skydance say about CBS and CNN?
The deal places CBS News and CNN within the same company. CNBC reported that the settlement requires a new board to oversee both organizations in order to protect editorial independence.
Kreiz said the two newsrooms would operate independently and in parallel. Ellison said corporate management would not direct editorial work. CNBC also reported that Mark Thompson will remain chairman and editor-in-chief of CNN Worldwide, while Bari Weiss will remain editor-in-chief of CBS News.
This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.