Skydance-owned Paramount officially closed its takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery on Tuesday, ending a roughly yearlong fight and creating one of the largest media and entertainment companies in the world. The combined company will be known as Skydance Corp., with billionaire David Ellison as chairman and CEO and former Mattel boss Ynon Kreiz as co-CEO overseeing day-to-day operations. According to TVTechnology, Ellison and Kreiz marked Tuesday, Oct. 6 as "Day One" in a memo to employees, promising a "next-generation media and entertainment company, powered by creativity and technology." The deal values the transaction at around $81 billion, or nearly $111 billion including Warner's debt. Shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SKYD, with Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders receiving about $31 per share.

The consequences reach every corner of the business. According to the Chicago Tribune, Skydance plans to unify Paramount+ and HBO Max into a single streaming service over time, though Ellison has said "HBO should stay HBO." Its combined streamers hold roughly 14% of the U.S. streaming market, comparable to Disney+ but behind Amazon Prime at 17% and Netflix at 19%, per JustWatch data cited by the Tribune. TVTechnology reports the company is targeting $6 billion-plus in run-rate synergies over three years through technology, marketing, real estate and layoffs, with Ellison and Kreiz warning employees that integration will bring "difficult decisions that affect our workforce." Under settlements with 12 states, the company agreed to distribute 30 films in theaters annually for two years, rising to 32, and to increase U.S. film production spending by at least $1.5 billion over five years. Hollywood's big six studios have now shrunk to four: Skydance, Disney, Universal and Sony.

The deal also unites CNN and CBS News under one owner with close ties to President Trump, who praised the closing and said Skydance is "going to be a great company." According to the Associated Press reporting carried by the Killeen Daily Herald, Trump had earlier called CNN's reporting "poison and lies," while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said "the sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better." Ellison told reporters the company has "not talked to any political leader of any party about news," and Skydance is retaining Mark Thompson as CNN's editor-in-chief and agreed to form a "News Editorial Independence Board." Critics including the FCC's sole Democratic commissioner, Anna Gomez, have called the arrangement alarming, as Gulf sovereign funds from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE were cleared to indirectly hold nearly 50% of Skydance's equity — potentially up to 100% — though with no voting rights.

According to gamesindustry.biz, Skydance president Andy Gordon announced in a memo that Paramount Games Studio and Warner Bros. Games will merge into one unit overseen by Tony Driscoll, with Gordon calling games, experiences, consumer products and publishing "core pillars of our strategy to build engagement and fandom." RedBird Capital Partners also announced an additional $4 billion in new equity financing, bringing its total commitment to $6 billion, which founder Gerry Cardinale called "a defining moment for the industry" per TVTechnology. Executives promise a minimum of 30 high-profile theatrical films and more than 180 new television shows in the coming years, while embracing AI — with Ellison and Kreiz insisting "technology must serve the art—never the other way around." Watch for workforce cuts, a streaming consolidation plan, and whether the promised editorial safeguards hold.