Paramount Skydance officially completed their merger on Tuesday, bringing a nearly year long effort to combine two of among Hollywood’s most powerful entertainment franchises—Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery—under one roof
The $110 billion deal includes two major film studios, two global streaming services, CBS, HBO, and Paramount's and WBD's cable networks, CBS News and CNN, as well as a content portfolio that includes live sports, an extensive programming library and expansive collection of iconic brands and franchises.
The new merged company, “Skydance” promises a minimum of 30 high profile theatrical films and more than 180 new television shows and series in the coming years,
As one of the largest media and entertainment companies in the world now, with nearly $70 billion in revenue, the company also announced that it is “targeting $6 billion-plus in run-rate synergies" (aka cost reductions) over the next three years through technology, integration and procurement, marketing and real-estate savings and layoffs.
These plans were made evident in a memo sent to employees on Tuesday from David Ellison, chairman and CEO, and co-CEO Ynon Kreiz.
In the memo, leaked to Variety, they said that “integrating two companies will bring change, including difficult decisions that affect our workforce,” and that “We are committed to handling this process thoughtfully and respectfully.”
We will embrace the opportunities AI provides to expand what our creatives can imagine and to make our businesses even more productive.
David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz
Calling Tuesday, Oct. 6, “Day One,” they added that the new Skydance will “build the next-generation media and entertainment company, powered by creativity and technology. The goal was never simply to add more production capacity, brands or IP. It was to unite the talent, resources and capabilities of these companies into a stronger competitor, one with the scale to take on the biggest players in our industry.”
The two executives also said they would “embrace” the latest technology for storytelling.
“We will use technology, data and emerging capabilities to improve how we create, distribute and monetize content, from new production tools to personalization and entirely new ways for fans to engage with the stories they love,” they said. “We will embrace the opportunities AI provides to expand what our creatives can imagine and to make our businesses even more productive. The opportunities ahead are enormous, and we intend to seize them. But one principle will never change: technology must serve the art—never the other way around.”
In other news yesterday, RedBird Capital Partners announced an additional $4 billion in new equity financing for Skydance, bringing its total commitment to the new company to $6 billion.
As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, RedBird founder Gerry Cardinale called the merger “a defining moment for the industry” that will “build a stronger Hollywood” in a “media landscape that’s undergoing transformation change.”
