Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery‘s merger only has a few more hurdles to jump before it can usher in the new Hollywood mega-company. David Ellison and his compatriots are looking to complete the merger in the coming week.
This means that the newly minted company might also be looking to announce a name. CNN has speculated that a name could be out as soon as October 1st. It is not yet known what name Ellison and his C-suite will choose for what is now cheekily being called Paramount Skydance Warner Bros. Discovery or ParaBros. However, whatever name the company chooses will signal to Hollywood what Paramount is looking to prioritize in its new phase.
The Paramount-Warner Bros. deal is moving into its next phase
Araceli Martínez-Olguín, who is presiding over the antitrust case against the merger, has signed off on the settlement that was reached between Paramount and the states that were looking to stop the merger. Reports have stated that the new merged entity will have a C-Suite turnover, the beginning of which was heralded by Cindy Holland’s departure. Leadership for the new entity will likely be announced in the coming days.
Paramount Skydance’s next steps might include pushing HBO chief Casey Bloys into the position vacated by Holland, allowing him to take over Paramount+ along with HBO under his wing. According to a memo shared by Holland, David Ellison is looking to “optimize” for HBO’s “stability,” which might just mean that Bloys is staying put at HBO.
One of the most glaring hurdles was brought to light by LA Times‘ Stacy Perman. She rightly pointed out that as the merger is being finalized, Ellison might have to look towards repairing the image of the new entity, especially with talent that vehemently opposed the merger. Repairing that image is going to come as an additional cost to the $80 billion that the company has to settle in debts as a result of the acquisition.
