A new era has dawned for Paramount Global, as Skydance Media CEO David Ellison officially completed his company’s acquisition of the legacy media giant on August 7, 2025. The monumental $8 billion deal, which took 13 months to finalize, has resulted in the formation of a new entity: Paramount Skydance Corporation. Ellison, the 42-year-old son of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, now serves as Chairman and CEO of the merged company, which will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “PSKY”.
In his first address as chief, Ellison outlined a bold, tech-infused vision for the historic studio, which owns assets like Paramount Pictures, CBS, and Nickelodeon. He emphasized a strategic pivot towards embracing Silicon Valley innovation to revitalize the company’s vast intellectual property, which includes franchises such as Star Trek, Mission: Impossible, and SpongeBob SquarePants. “Unless you can build a tech product that is truly competitive with what’s coming out of Silicon Valley, you can’t compete,” Ellison stated during a press conference in New York. “And that’s one of the big problems that has been facing legacy media.”
Ellison, who founded Skydance Media in 2010 and produced blockbusters like the Oscar-nominated Top Gun: Maverick and The Tomorrow War, plans to significantly increase content production. “We need to make more content across the company. We’re going to make more movies, we’re going to make more series, we’re going to invest in the business,” he announced. His strategy includes leveraging machine learning for content discovery on streaming platforms and exploring AI’s role in “content generation,” drawing a parallel to how Pixar revolutionized animation.
The immediate goal is to scale Paramount’s direct-to-consumer business globally, particularly its flagship streamer Paramount+, which currently has approximately 77 million subscribers. To achieve this, Ellison confirmed that significant restructuring and cost-cutting measures are on the horizon, with the company targeting over $2 billion in synergies. Further details on the financial outlook and potential layoffs are expected during the company’s earnings call on November 6.
The new CEO also addressed several sensitive topics that have surrounded the acquisition. He distanced the new leadership from a $16 million settlement with former President Donald Trump related to a 60 Minutes lawsuit, noting the deal was made by the prior regime. “We’re ready to move past the noise,” Ellison said, affirming his commitment to journalistic independence while expressing a desire to remain apolitical. “Of course we believe in the independence of journalism… But also, I’ve watched others wade in to the political spectrum and, I just want to be transparent, I have no interest in doing that.”
Regarding the announced cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, set to end its run in 2026, the executive team noted the decision was made before the merger closed and pointed to significant financial losses in the “tens of millions of dollars” annually, coupled with declining linear viewership for late-night television.
Ellison’s journey from a University of Southern California film school dropout to a Hollywood power player has been remarkable. His production company has been a key partner to Paramount for years, co-producing many of its biggest hits. Now, with the full backing of his family’s considerable wealth, he has committed to steering the legacy studio for the long haul. “This is what I’m doing for the next twenty years of my life,” he declared. As Hollywood grapples with technological disruption, all eyes are on Ellison to see if his blend of creative ambition and tech-savvy leadership can successfully navigate Paramount Skydance into a new chapter of growth and innovation.
