Paramount-Warner Bros. will be called Skydance: both HBO Max and Paramount+ survive, De Luca and Abdy out

The combined Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery will be called Skydance. David Ellison told employees on Friday that the merged company takes the name of the studio he founded two decades ago, Variety reported, with Paramount, Warner Bros. and HBO continuing as brands underneath it. Deadline reported that Paramount becomes Skydance on Oct. 6, when the acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery closes.

“As we bring Paramount and Warner Bros. together, we wanted to preserve what has made each of these studios iconic,” Ellison wrote in a memo to staff obtained by Variety. “We never wanted a new corporate identity to diminish, alter or overshadow either one. Instead, we wanted a name that would give the combined company an identity of its own while allowing Paramount and Warner Bros. — and all our extraordinary brands — to remain in the spotlight.”

Skydance at a glance

Question	What was reported
New name	Skydance, announced by David Ellison on Friday (Variety, Deadline, THR)
Closing date	Tuesday, Oct. 6, according to Deadline
Streaming	Both HBO Max and Paramount+ brands kept; Casey Bloys expected to oversee streaming (Deadline)
Film	Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein poised to oversee both studios; Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy out (Deadline, Variety)
Television	George Cheeks to oversee Warner Bros. TV, CBS Studios and Paramount Television Studios (Deadline, THR)
Co-CEO	Ynon Kreiz, the former Mattel chief, alongside Ellison (Variety, Deadline)

Why the name Skydance

Ellison’s memo, published in full by Variety, explains the choice in personal terms. “I chose the name for my own studio 20 years ago because I wanted something truly personal that also represented limitless possibility,” he wrote. “The personal part came from my love of flight: skydancing is another name for aerobatic flying. The possibility came from the cosmos.” He added that the original Skydance logo had each letter represent a planet revolving around the sun, and closed the note with “Welcome to Skydance.”

Two streamers, not one

The most consequential detail for subscribers is that both streaming services appear to be staying. Deadline reported that the video Ellison released to announce the name ended with a slide of the company’s key brands, and that it included the logos of both HBO Max and Paramount+ alongside Paramount, Warner Bros., DC, CBS, CNN and Nickelodeon. Because Paramount was already represented on the slide, Deadline read the separate inclusion of Paramount+ as intentional.

Deadline said the company has yet to officially confirm how the two platforms will be combined, but that Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO of HBO and HBO Max content, is expected to oversee the operation. Asked on Thursday whether the services would be bundled or fully integrated, Bloys pointed to the HBO Max–Disney bundle, which he described as very successful, and said something similar “would make a lot of sense”, according to Deadline. Variety reported that Paramount+ streaming head Cindy Holland exited this week, leaving Bloys as the presumptive head of all streaming at Skydance.

De Luca and Abdy leave Warner Bros.

Variety confirmed late Thursday that Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group heads Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy are out. Deadline reported that their last day will be Tuesday, effectively day one of Skydance, and that the pair learned of their fate from Thursday night’s press reports before Ellison spoke to them on Friday. Their contract runs through 2030 and will have to be paid out, Deadline said.

The context, according to Deadline, is a down year at the box office: $448.4 million domestic for Jan. 1 to Oct. 1, against a record $4.3 billion in 2025, with the Tom Cruise film Digger opening this weekend to an estimated $10 million or less. Deadline also noted that the two executives delivered 11 Oscar wins to Warner Bros. this year and are handing over 39 dated films, part of a slate of about 70 titles through 2029. Variety reported that Paramount Pictures leaders Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein will be elevated to oversee the film labels of both companies, including New Line, and that they have already been contacting key Warner Bros. talent such as Margot Robbie. One source told Variety there is “no way” a Barbie sequel does not happen.

As for what the pair do next, Deadline reported they have no competing offers, intend to stay partnered, and may take time before deciding; the outlet described rumours of imminent moves to Netflix, Sony or Apple as untrue at this stage.

George Cheeks takes the television studios

On the television side, Deadline reported that George Cheeks, Paramount’s chair of TV media, will add oversight of Warner Bros. Television and Paramount Television Studios to his existing responsibility for CBS Studios. Warner Bros. Television chairman and CEO Channing Dungey and PTVS president Matt Thunell both stay on and report to him, according to Deadline. The Hollywood Reporter, which described Cheeks as the last surviving Paramount Global co-CEO, said the arrangement positions him to climb within Ellison’s television empire and that wide cuts are expected across the company as it seeks to pay down debt.

Both outlets flagged a regulatory constraint. Under the settlement with the 12 state attorneys general who sued over the deal, the Paramount and Warner Bros. cable channels must continue to negotiate their carriage agreements separately, Deadline and THR reported. Deadline added that the structure keeps Ellison’s direct reports across film, TV and streaming at three, Bloys, Goldberg and Greenstein, and Cheeks, and positions the three TV studios for an eventual consolidation of the kind Disney took six years to complete after buying the Fox assets.

What happens on Tuesday

The formal close is expected Tuesday, after which the executive line-up described above is due to be made official. Variety reported that the Paramount lot was swarming with preparations on Friday and that the industry is speculating over who will be named to the leadership team on Monday. What is already clear is the shape of the company: one parent called Skydance, two film studios reporting to a single pair of executives, three television studios under one chair, and two streaming brands that look set to be sold together rather than merged.

Frequently asked questions

What will Paramount and Warner Bros. be called after the merger?

Skydance. David Ellison announced the name in a memo to staff on Friday, reported by Variety, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter. Paramount, Warner Bros. and HBO remain as brands under the Skydance parent.

Will HBO Max and Paramount+ merge into one service?

Not according to current reporting. Deadline said both brands appeared on the company’s key-brands slide and that HBO’s Casey Bloys hinted at a bundle similar to the HBO Max–Disney bundle, though nothing has been officially confirmed.

When does the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery deal close?

Deadline reported the acquisition closes on Tuesday, Oct. 6, when Paramount becomes Skydance.

Who is running the film studios after Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy leave?

Deadline and Variety reported that Paramount Pictures co-chairs Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein are poised to oversee both the Paramount and Warner Bros. film operations.