Paramount Closes $111 Billion Warner Bros. Discovery Merger to Form Skydance

Paramount Skydance has completed its $111 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, establishing a consolidated entertainment and media conglomerate renamed Skydance, as reported by Hacker News (https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/10/paramount-completes-111b-warner-merger-creating-skydance-behemoth/).

The final regulatory hurdle cleared after U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan denied an emergency application to block the transaction without issuing a comment. The emergency request had been filed by five consumers who subscribe to streaming services and video products, following an unsuccessful appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

The unified company brings together major film studios, streaming platforms Paramount+ and HBO Max, television networks CBS and CNN, and sports broadcasting rights under CBS Sports and TNT Sports. The post-merger entity adopts the Skydance name from the studio Paramount acquired in a separate transaction last year.

The closing follows approval of a state-level settlement on September 30 by U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín in the Northern District of California. A lawsuit led by California and 11 other states initially prompted a July ruling from Judge Martínez-Olguín finding the merger would likely reduce competition in violation of antitrust laws. The subsequent settlement, agreed to by all 12 states, requires Skydance to meet minimum investment and release commitments for domestic films and maintain separate distribution negotiations for basic cable assets.

The state agreement also obligates Skydance to establish an Editorial Independence Board for CBS News and CNN, with members appointed by Skydance and reporting directly to its board of directors. CNN Chief Executive Mark Thompson and CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss will continue in their current executive roles.

Federal antitrust clearance was secured in June when the Department of Justice approved the transaction. In September, the Federal Communications Commission permitted Paramount to finance the merger by selling non-voting equity stakes to the sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. The Ellison family and RedBird Capital Partners retain 100 percent of the voting shares.

The newly formed Skydance is expected to hold approximately $80 billion in debt, according to Reuters, creating significant operational pressure to expand streaming subscriber revenue, sustain legacy cable cash flows, and improve theatrical box office returns.