Formation In 2023, after struggling with debt and striving to remain competitive in the entertainment industry, Paramount's parent company,
National Amusements, explored potential merger and acquisition opportunities for Paramount Global. Numerous prominent companies, such as
Sony Pictures,
Warner Bros. Discovery,
Apollo Global Management,
Warner Music Group,
Allen Media Group, and
Skydance Media, had indicated their interest in exploring potential business partnerships or purchasing the company. After first coming to a merger deal with Skydance, Paramount and Skydance canceled the proposed merger on June 11 due to unsatisfactory conversations. Following a break in the talks, Skydance was able to reach a preliminary agreement on July 2, 2024, to perform a 3-way merger between it, National Amusements, and Paramount to establish what was then known as "New Paramount". After the merger closed, Skydance Media
CEO David Ellison became the chairman and CEO of the combined company and
Jeff Shell became the president. Paramount said in February 2025, and May 2025, that it expected the transaction to close within the first half of the year, but it did not happen. With the deal not yet approved, the first automatic extension to July 7, 2025, went into effect on April 8, 2025, after which the second automatic extension to October 4, 2025 went into effect on July 7, 2025. The
SEC and the
European Commission (EC) approved the transaction in February 2025. On July 24, 2025, the FCC approved the merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media.
Merger restructuring On August 4, 2025, Paramount Skydance announced some of its new leadership alongside Ellison and Shell, with Andy Gordon joining as COO and strategy officer; Cindy Holland leading streaming services Paramount+ and Pluto TV; Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein co-leading Paramount Pictures; and Paramount Global veteran George Cheeks leading television networks. It was also announced the same day that the company would comprise 3 major units: studios (consisting of Paramount Pictures, Skydance Pictures, Nickelodeon Movies and other divisions such as those for film, television and video games), direct-to-consumer (Paramount+ and Pluto TV) and television media (CBS, BET, MTV, Nickelodeon among others). It also announced the merger of
Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Skydance Television into a revival of
Paramount Television Studios to be headed by Matt Thunell. Oversight of the television units would be split, with Thunell heading the studios division (focusing on the streaming services) and George Cheeks overseeing production for the television media division (focusing on the linear networks), as well as
South Park, which renewed its standing with Paramount in a deal worth $1.5 billion. Three months later in October following Paramount Skydance's relaunch of Paramount Television Studios, it was announced that
Nickelodeon Group's live-action studio Nickelodeon/Awesomeness Live-Action aka Nickelodeon Productions and
Awesomeness' production studio including Nickelodeon's & Awesomeness' production states was folded into the relaunched studio Paramount Television Studios, with the relaunched studio taking over Nickelodeon's current production state alongside Awesomeness' current productions, and would produce their future production slates beginning with the upcoming
Victorious spin-off series
Hollywood Arts which was originally ordered at Nickelodeon had moved to Netflix as its first Nickelodeon-branded series produced by the revived studio. On August 5, 2025, Paramount Skydance announced layoffs of around 1,000 employees and a slashing of $2 billion in operating costs, alongside interest in a merger of Paramount+ and Pluto TV with assist from Oracle Corporation. On August 7, Jeff Shell announced that Paramount Skydance was exploring a sale of the NAI cinemas. On August 8, Paramount announced that they would be based in the Paramount Pictures lot in
Los Angeles, departing from
One Astor Plaza for the first time since the first Viacom moved there in 1994. On August 11, Paramount announced a seven-year deal with
TKO Group Holdings where
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will be exclusively distributed in the United States. UFC's 13 marquee numbered events and 30 "Fight Nights" will air on its streaming platform, Paramount+, with select numbered events also set to simulcast on CBS starting in 2026. On August 13, 2025, Paramount announced that
Top Gun 3,
Star Trek, and other projects were now priorities. Paramount executives are looking to release twenty films per year. Cindy Holland, chairperson of direct-to-consumer, said, "We want to entertain all audiences around the world. On Paramount+ today, we have a really great foundation, which is the
Taylor Sheridan universe. We also have incredible CBS next-day, live sports, a lot from the
cable networks, franchises like
Star Trek, so many series. We're seeking to expand that and make sure that we’re offering programming for everybody not just occasionally, not just for the one thing they came to watch but ultimately and hopefully a year round and a daily habit for all audiences." Streaming films will not be a priority per Ellison. Also that day, Shell announced $2 billion in cuts. "We do not want to be a company that has layoffs every quarter. So, it is important for us to get done what we're doing in one big thing and then be done with it," Shell said. On August 19, Paramount announced a four-year deal with
Matt and Ross Duffer, the creators of
Stranger Things, for movies, television and streaming projects at Paramount+. The agreement will commence following the conclusion of their current deal with
Netflix in April 2026. On September 2, 2025, Paramount Pictures announced that they and
Microsoft-owned
Activision Blizzard had signed a deal that will see the studio develop, produce and distribute a live-action film based on the
Call of Duty franchise, which Ellison, a long-time fan of the series, considered a "dream come true". On September 3, Paramount Pictures announced that they signed a first-look, multi-picture deal with
Will Smith and his company
Westbrook. The deal will include films like
Sugar Bandits and
Rabbit Hole. Westbrook will also relocate to the Paramount lot in Hollywood. On September 4, Paramount Pictures and
Legendary Entertainment announced a three-year worldwide film distribution deal. Under the deal, Paramount will market and distribute Legendary-developed and -produced theatrical films globally, excluding
China, where Legendary East handles all marketing and distribution activities.
Warner Bros. Pictures will continue to globally distribute films from select Legendary franchises including
Dune: Part Three and
Godzilla x Kong: Supernova (outside of Japan, which will be handled by
Toho). The first film under the Paramount deal will be the
live-action adaptation of the
Street Fighter video game series. Also on September 4, Paramount announced a return to office policy that requires all employees to be in the office five days a week. On September 5, it was announced that
Piers Morgan Uncensored will move from
YouTube to
5 where it will air as a 90-minute highlights show starting September 12. On September 12, 2025, Paramount Skydance announced they would be launching a sports media division called Paramount Sports Entertainment, the division would produce scripted and unscripted programming for its own platforms as well as third-party media companies and streaming services, while also developing sports-focused interactive games and experiences while also housing
Skydance Sports. The division is also expected to collaborate with
CBS Sports, but it will not be directly involved in live sports broadcasts. The division would be led by Skydance Sports chairman Jesse Sisgold. On September 16, Paramount Skydance added AI executive Dennis K. Cinelli to its board as an independent director, effective immediately. The appointment expands the body to 11 directors. On September 17, 2025, it was announced that Marc Weinstock would be stepping down from his role as President of Worldwide Marketing and Distribution at Paramount Pictures. His departure comes as Josh Goldstine, the former marketing chief at Warner Bros., is expected to take over the position, according to media reports. On September 23, A former top official in the Trump Administration,
Makan Delrahim, is in advanced talks to join the newly merged Paramount Global in a major legal role, according to sources with direct knowledge. On September 26, Pam Kaufman exited her role as Paramount President and CEO of International Markets, Global Consumer Products and Experiences. On October 6, 2025, it was announced that Paramount Skydance named
Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief of CBS News after acquiring her outlet
The Free Press, a deal valued at $150 million. On October 23, Paramount Skydance sold its Argentine television network
Telefe alongside its regional stations in
Santa Fe and
Córdoba, its international channel
Telefe Internacional, its production divisions and its content library to holding company , a company of businessman Gustavo Scaglione and José Luis Manzano. On October 27,
The Hollywood Reporter announced that Taylor Sheridan was leaving Paramount for
NBCUniversal as Paramount did not offer Sheridan an offer to stay. Also on October 27, it was announced that
John Dickerson would be leaving
CBS News, where he had been employed for over 16 years. On October 29, upcoming layoffs were announced, about which Ellison stated that in “some areas, we are addressing redundancies that have emerged across the organization. In others, we are phasing out roles that are no longer aligned with our evolving priorities and the new structure designed to strengthen our focus on growth ". Paramount announced anchors Dana Jacboson and
Michelle Miller as well as producer Brian Applegate of
CBS Saturday Morning would be a part of the 2,000 layoffs planned. The company announced the layoffs of motion picture divisions, including production, literary, marketing and music including executives
Randy Spendlove, Bryan Oh, Geoff Stier, Andres Alvarez, Rachel Cadden, Christine Benitez, and Phil Cohen. Also TV Executives Teri Fleming, Pamela Soper, Amanda Palley,
Rose Catherine Pinkney,
Robi Reed, Wendy Plaut, Amanda Culkowski, Margaret Comeaux, Jeff Grossman, Patricia Kollappallil, Gregory Heller, Amy Campbell, and Andrea Ballas were a part of the layoffs. On October 30, 2025, Matt Thunell announced the department heads in areas such as Creative, Production, Business Affairs & Legal, Finance & BA, with some functions, including Talent & Casting and Corporate were either staying, newly hired, or promoted to different departments. Those named are Head of Development Shelley Zimmerman, EVP of Current Series Carolyn Harris, President of Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studio Keith Cox, Head of Production Drew Brown, Head of Business Affairs Virginia Lazalde-McPherson, EVP, Legal Affairs Lance McPherson, and Head of Finance Mel Rauch. Matt Hengemuhle moved from SVP, Financial Planning & Analysis to Direct to Consumer. Tricia Wood, EVP Casting for Paramount Pictures will also cast for
Paramount Television Studios. Those leaving are EVP and Head of Global Production for Showtime/MTVE Keri Flint, EVP, TV Business & Legal Affairs for Skydance Jeff Hegedus, CFO, Paramount Media Networks, Showtime/MTVE Studios Candice Brancazio, EVP, Head of Live-Action Series, Films & Talent, Nickelodeon and Awesomeness TV
Shauna Phelan, and EVP, Head of Global Talent and Content Development for Showtime/MTVE Trevor Rose. On November 10, 2025,
Los Angeles Times reported that Paramount laid off 1,600 employees in
South America in exchange of a reduction of 15% of its workforce and cost savings which are worth $3 billion. The next day, 600 employees chose the severance package and left their jobs instead of returning to the office. On November 14, Paramount announced its decision to sell
Chilevisión to Vytal Group. Also that day,
U. S. House of Representatives Jamie Raskin and
Frank Pallone, the top two
Democrats on the
House Energy & Commerce Committee, said Paramount had not fully cooperated with their investigation in the settlement agreement between Skydance, Paramount Global, and President Trump. In August, they had requested documents from Paramount, communications with the
Trump administration, the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and internal communications concerning the merger between Skydance and Paramount. On December 4, 2025, Paramount unveiled its TV Media leadership team. Under these changes, Laurel Weil would lead programming across the division. Jeannie Scalzo would lead MTV with Sitarah Pendelson handling all of the channel's programming. Jurles Borkent would now lead Nickelodeon Kids & Family after being president of the channel's international unit while Ari Pearce would lead Comedy Central. On December 31 of the same year, Paramount shut down the various MTV music channels outside of the United States (
MTV 80s,
MTV 90s,
MTV 00s,
Club MTV,
MTV Live,
MTV Hits,
MTV Base, and
MTV Music), marking the end of their broadcasting of music in those regions after 38 years (dating from the launch of
MTV Europe) alongside a number of other channels which included channels in France and Brazil, the latter marking its exit from the Brazilian pay-television market. This closure represented the definitive end of the MTV brand on Brazilian television, following its 1990 launch as a
broadcast network in one of the first markets outside the United States, after MTV Europe, and
its relaunch by Viacom on cable television in 2013.
Proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery and departure of Jeff Shell In September 2025, The Wall Street Journal and others reported that Paramount Skydance was weighing a takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, a deal that, unlike the Skydance–Paramount tie-up, was expected to sidestep
Federal Communications Commission review because WBD holds no broadcast licenses. The idea drew immediate political scrutiny, with Senator
Elizabeth Warren urging regulators to stop it, while price talk swung widely: early chatter reached about $70 billion, mid-month commentary pointed to the mid-$50 billions, and by September 19 reporting centered on scenarios "north of" $45 billion alongside a potential $22–$24 per-share offer structure that could be 70–80% cash, with support from
Larry Ellison. By September 29, CNBC’s
David Faber suggested a friendly agreement looked unlikely and that Paramount might need to take any bid directly to WBD shareholders. Industry voices spent the month debating what such a combination would mean. UTA chief David Kramer called it a mixed prospect for Hollywood, and
FX Networks chairman
John Landgraf predicted that large-scale consolidation among legacy studios was essentially unavoidable. Strategically, observers noted the sheer scale on offer: Paramount Skydance's roughly 4,500-film (including the entire of
Miramax, pre-2005
Dimension Films and pre-2011
DreamWorks Pictures libraries), 200,000-episode library (including the CBS/
Paramount Television,
Spelling Television and libraries from the cable networks alongside the pre-1973 programming libraries of
NBC and
ABC) alongside Warner Bros.' catalog of about 10,000 films (including the pre-April 1986
MGM, February 1952 – May 1986
United Artists and pre-May 1982
Orion Pictures libraries) and 120,000 episodes (including the
Turner,
HBO and
Discovery legacy libraries). Much industry speculation centred around how this could change competition, and the line-up of streaming services such as
Pluto TV. Financially, late-month research cautioned that even post-deal, most earnings power would still come from traditional TV:
Bernstein Research estimated roughly 70% of EBITDA would be tied to linear networks, even as
KPMG highlighted US content spend surpassing $200 billion and continuing to rise. On October 2, 2025,
CNBC speculated that their then-parent company,
NBCUniversal, prior to its spin-off into
Versant, could be the biggest wild card for the acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery's assets. On October 13, 2025, Warner Bros. Discovery rejected a proposed first bid from Paramount Skydance, but Paramount Skydance is considering to raise their offer or go directly to Warner Bros. Discovery's shareholders. On October 21, the
New York Post said that Warner Bros. Discovery had privately rejected a new $24-a-share bid by Paramount Skydance. On October 8, the
New York Post reported that Paramount Skydance was in talks with major private equity firms, including
Apollo Global Management (the company that owns
Legendary Entertainment and
Cox Media Group) to join its possible bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery which could cost upwards of $60 billion. On October 28, 2025, Paramount CEO David Ellison said that he plans to shut down
HBO Max as a standalone streaming service, and merge it with
Paramount+ if the merger goes through, following
Bob Iger's plans to shut down
Hulu and merge it with
Disney+ in 2026 (Hulu has already replaced Star in international markets outside of the United States and Japan). Ellison also says that Paramount wanted to keep most of Warner Bros. Discovery intact. On December 4, 2025, Paramount blamed Warner Bros. Discovery for orchestrating an unfair bidding process that favors Netflix. Netflix won the bidding war later that day and would begin exclusive deal talks. On December 5, Netflix
announced that they would be buying the Warner Bros. streaming and studio company for $72 billion after the split closes in the third quarter, valuing WBD at $82.7 billion. Although Netflix ultimately won the bidding process, the transaction was still subject to
regulatory approval in multiple jurisdictions. Amid the ongoing antitrust review, reports indicated that Paramount Skydance might consider launching a
hostile takeover bid should the approval process create an opening. Three days later, Paramount launched a hostile takeover bid of WBD for an enterprise value of $108.4 billion. Paramount argued its $30 per share all-cash offer was superior to the $27.75 per share offer from Netflix, and that a combination with Paramount faced lower regulatory hurdles. On December 11, Paramount Skydance was considering raising its takeover offer for Warner Bros. Discovery by as much as 10% as it plots its next move to break up a merger agreement with Netflix. The new offer of Warner Bros. for Paramount would now be $33 per share for $90 billion, while the new offer of Warner Bros. for Netflix would now be $30.75 per share for $86 billion. On December 17, WBD told its shareholders to reject Paramount's bid, instead proceeding with the Netflix acquisition. On December 22, 2025, Warner Bros. Discovery's board reviewed an offer from tech tycoon Larry Ellison to personally guarantee Paramount Skydance's $78 billion hostile takeover bid – adding a fresh twist to a bidding war that has most recently favored Netflix, On the Money has learned. On January 7, 2026, it was reported by
Variety that Warner Bros. Discovery's board of directors had rejected the amended offer by Paramount Skydance to acquire the entire company, with the board writing in a
SEC filing that they considered the Paramount Skydance offer to be of "insufficient value", and that the offer was "inadequate", as they believed the Netflix offer was of better value to their shareholders, with the board sticking with the Netflix offer for Warner Bros. Discovery's Streaming and Studios division. On January 23, 2026, Netflix Co-CEO Greg Peters Says Paramount's WBD Bid 'Doesn't Pass the Sniff Test', but Netflix's WBD bid actually passed the Sniff Test. In fact, he said Paramount Skydance's rival $108.4 billion all-cash bid for Warner Bros. Discovery is a smoke screen largely reliant on tech billionaire Larry Ellison, the father of Paramount CEO David Ellison, and tens of billions in debt. As of January 23, 2026, approximately 7% of WBD’s 2.5 billion outstanding shares have been tendered to the Paramount deal, which is set to expire on Feb. 20. On February 5, 2026, Paramount CEO David Ellison published an open letter to the UK creative community outlining commitments related to the company's proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). In the letter, Ellison pledged continued investment in content, a minimum 45-day theatrical window for films, the release of more than 30 cinema titles annually, and the preservation of HBO as an independent brand under Paramount’s ownership. Ellison criticized Netflix, arguing that its competing $83 billion bid for WBD could create a "monopolistic or dominant entity" and reduce marketplace competition. Netflix responded that its proposal was “pro-consumer, pro-innovation, pro-worker, pro-creator and pro-growth,” and said it was confident the deal would receive regulatory approval. The letter formed part of Paramount’s efforts to secure support from UK lawmakers and industry stakeholders as it pursued the takeover. On February 10, 2026, Paramount Skydance sweetened its bid for Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) without increasing its $30-per-share offer, valued at $108.4 billion. The company offered a 25-cent per share quarterly “ticking fee,” equivalent to approximately $650 million in cash per quarter beginning in 2027 until the transaction closes. Paramount also agreed to cover the $2.8 billion termination fee WBD would owe Netflix if it withdrew from Netflix’s $82.7 billion agreement for WBD’s studio and streaming assets. Additional measures included backstopping WBD’s planned debt exchange to eliminate a potential $1.5 billion bondholder fee and granting interim operating flexibility comparable to that negotiated with Netflix. Paramount stated it had complied with the
U.S. Department of Justice’s second request, triggering a 10-day waiting period, secured foreign investment approval in Germany, and was in discussions with regulators in the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom. Analysts described the revised proposal as increasing pressure on WBD but questioned whether it would be sufficient to win shareholder support. WBD’s board continued to back the Netflix deal, citing the opportunity for investors to retain a stake in a separately traded Discovery Global entity. WBD scheduled a special shareholder meeting to vote on the Netflix transaction, expected by April. On the same day, activist investor
Ancora Holdings disclosed a roughly $200 million stake in WBD and said it planned to oppose the Netflix transaction and support Paramount’s bid. On February 11, 2026, activist investor Ancora Alternatives LLC, a shareholder of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), said it would vote against WBD’s proposed transaction with Netflix, support Paramount Skydance’s rival bid, and consider launching a proxy fight if WBD’s board did not engage with Paramount. In a presentation, Ancora argued that Paramount’s revised proposal could reasonably be expected to constitute a “Superior Proposal” under WBD’s merger agreement and urged the board to negotiate in good faith to maximize shareholder value. The firm criticized the board for entering into what it described as an inferior agreement with Netflix and warned it would seek to hold directors accountable at the company’s 2026 annual meeting if they refused to reconsider.WBD said it was reviewing Paramount’s amended offer, which included a 25-cent per share quarterly “ticking fee” for each quarter after December 31, 2026 that the transaction remains unclosed, funding of a $2.8 billion termination fee payable to Netflix if WBD terminates that agreement, and commitments related to debt financing costs and obligations. Analysts said the changes addressed many of the board’s previously stated concerns but did not guarantee shareholder approval. On February 13, 2026, Paramount Skydance has named Rene Augustine, a former Trump administration attorney, as its senior vice president of global public policy, according to a company memo seen by Reuters, amid an ongoing takeover battle for Warner Bros Discovery. Meanwhile, Warner Bros. Discovery, attracted the attention of activist investor Sachem Head Capital Management in the fourth quarter when the media and entertainment giant agreed to sell its streaming and studios business to Netflix, according to a regulatory filing on Friday. Sachem Head, one of last year's best-performing hedge funds, said in the Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it more than doubled its holding in Warner Bros. Discovery to own nearly 8 million shares at the end of the fourth quarter. On February 15, 2026,
Bloomberg reported that Warner Bros. Discovery was considering reopening sale talks with Paramount Skydance. On February 20, 2026, the company announced its bid had passed the second request review process undertaken by the Department of Justice, with the company saying "there was no statutory proposal to close down the acquisition". On February 26, 2026, Warner Bros. Discovery announced that they found Paramount's offer of $31 per share was superior to the deal Netflix made. Shortly after, Netflix announced they were not going to raise their bid and pulled out, with Paramount emerging as the winner of the bidding war. On February 27, the studios revealed that the deal is worth $110 billion. According to David Zaslav, the acquisition is expected to close within 6-12 months, pending regulatory and shareholder approval. If the deal closes, it will be the largest all-cash transaction in corporate history, ahead of
Microsoft's $67 billion acquisition of
Activision Blizzard in 2023. On April 8, 2026, Jeff Shell departed Paramount Skydance as President. The departure came a month after Robert James "R.J." Cipriani filed a $150 million lawsuit against Shell and his wife for breach of contract and fraud complaint, in which it also lists Paramount's CEO
David Ellison, his father
Larry, and several other advisors. Cipriant accused Shell of "gossiping about deals surrounding
UFC,
WBD, and
Donald Trump"; Paramount Skydance later came out saying that Shell exited the company with a severance package of $5 million; the contract set an annual base salary of $3.5 million, as well as a $1.5 million bonus. On April 23, 2026, shareholders of Warner Bros. Discovery have approved the sale to Paramount Skydance. ==Company units==