Last updated: October 5, 2026
One of the largest media mergers in history is set to close this week. Paramount Skydance’s $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery is expected to close Tuesday, October 6 or Wednesday, October 7, after a federal judge cleared the last antitrust hurdle — combining CBS, CNN, HBO Max, Paramount+, and the Warner Bros. film and TV studio under a single new corporate banner: Skydance.
Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery Become “Skydance”
A $110 billion deal, a five-year antitrust consent decree, and a new corporate name — here’s what’s changing hands and what guardrails come with it.
The Deal: What Paramount Is Buying
Under the terms, Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders receive $31.00 per share in cash, plus roughly $0.0028 per share for every calendar day between September 30 and the actual closing date — a small daily sweetener that reflects how long the deal took to clear regulators. The combined entity, branded Skydance after CEO David Ellison’s original film studio, will control two of the industry’s largest streaming services (Paramount+ and HBO Max), a sprawling network portfolio (CBS, CNN, MTV, TBS, Comedy Central, Food Network), and franchises including The Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, the DC Universe, and Yellowstone. Ellison has said the Paramount and Warner Bros. brand names will stay front and center rather than being absorbed into a generic new identity: “We never wanted a new corporate identity to diminish, alter or overshadow either one.” David Ellison becomes CEO of the combined company, with Ynon Kreiz serving as co-CEO.
Regulatory Settlement and Guardrails
The deal cleared its last major obstacle on September 30, when U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín approved a consent decree resolving an antitrust lawsuit brought by California and eleven other states, lifting the order that had been blocking the merger from closing. The judge will retain enforcement authority for five years. Conditions attached to the settlement include minimum theatrical film output (30 films a year for two years, stepping up to 32 annually after that), minimum theatrical windows of 45 days before a title can move to streaming and a 90-day streaming exclusivity window, at least $300 million in additional annual U.S. production spending, and a requirement that the combined company negotiate cable-network carriage deals separately for five years rather than bundling them.
CNN and Editorial Independence
Mark Thompson, who has led CNN for three years, will remain as chairman and editor-in-chief under the new ownership, reporting to Ellison and Kreiz. He said “editorial independence will absolutely be maintained” and that he’s confident the new leadership “understand and will fully support the principle and practice of the kind of independent news that CNN has always stood for.” As part of the antitrust settlement, Skydance has six months to stand up a five-member editorial independence board overseeing both CBS News and CNN. There is no immediate plan to merge CNN’s newsroom with CBS News. Reports also note Skydance faces real pressure to cut costs given the deal’s debt load, and will lean on CNN’s cash flow to help fund the broader restructuring.
Why It Matters
This is the clearest sign yet that traditional media is consolidating around scale: streaming, a theatrical studio, cable news, and broadcast under one roof, competing directly against Netflix for subscribers and attention — a rivalry we covered in our recent look at Wall Street’s split verdict on Netflix. It also puts pressure on legacy peers like Disney, whose own streaming-and-studio model is outlined in our Disney (DIS) stock fact sheet, to respond to a newly bulked-up competitor. For investors, the deal is also a reminder that regulatory settlements increasingly come with real operating conditions attached — content-spend minimums, theatrical-window rules, and editorial-oversight boards — rather than simple approve-or-block decisions.
For more on how this week’s broader market narrative is shaping up, see our weekend market roundup, and browse the full lineup of company coverage on our Stock Fact Sheets hub.
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For informational purposes only. Not investment advice. Deal terms are subject to final closing conditions and may change; always do your own research or consult a licensed financial advisor before making investment decisions.
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