Skydance co-CEO David Ellison told CNBC on Thursday — days after Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery officially closed — that the combined company is “positioned to win in every single vertical that we operate in.”
Skydance includes film studios Paramount and Warner Bros.; the CBS broadcast network; a sprawling pay TV portfolio that includes CNN, TNT, MTV and BET; and streaming services Paramount+ and HBO Max.
“By combining Paramount and Warner Bros, we have the greatest content engine,” Ellison said, noting blockbuster intellectual property and a strong sports portfolio. “You’re immediately getting to scale in streaming between HBO Max and Paramount+, over 200 million global streaming subscribers. … Not to mention the Olympics internationally and an incredibly profitable linear portfolio, anchored by CBS.”
Ellison and co-CEO Ynon Kreiz plan to split executive duties, with Ellison focusing on the company’s creative…