Three Rival TV Studios Are About to Fall Under One Paramount Executive

With the merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery scheduled to close on October 6, incoming leadership is consolidating television production under one executive. Reports from Variety, Deadline, and Puck indicate that Paramount TV Media chair George Cheeks will oversee all three major television production studios in the combined company: Warner Bros. Television (WBTV), CBS Studios, and Paramount Television Studios (PTVS).

On October 2, CEO David Ellison announced that the combined company will operate under the corporate name Skydance. Ellison explained that the identity was chosen to allow legacy brands like Paramount and Warner Bros. to remain prominent. The transaction, valued between $110 billion and $111 billion, cleared a key hurdle in late September after an antitrust settlement was reached with 12 state attorneys general.

Studio Leadership Under Cheeks

Under the reported structure, Warner Bros. Television chairman and CEO Channing Dungey and Paramount Television Studios president Matt Thunell will remain in their positions and report to Cheeks. They will serve alongside CBS Studios president David Stapf, who already reports to Cheeks at Paramount.

The television consolidation mirrors the film side, where Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg are set to lead Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures as Warner Bros. film heads Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy depart. Unlike the film leadership changes, the heads of all three television studios are expected to remain in place.

Uncertainty Over Long-Term Integration

Representatives for Skydance and Paramount declined to comment on the restructuring, leaving the plan officially unconfirmed. It also remains uncertain whether WBTV, CBS Studios, and PTVS will stay distinct standalone entities over the long term or face future operational consolidation.

A related question is whether Warner Bros. Television will resume producing broadcast series in-house for CBS under shared corporate ownership.

Linear Networks and Streaming

Cheeks is also expected to broaden his television network purview. He currently oversees the CBS broadcast network, CBS News, CBS Sports, CBS Studios, and Paramount cable networks including BET, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, and MTV. Certain Warner Bros. Discovery cable networks are expected to join his portfolio, though specific assignments remain subject to antitrust settlement terms requiring separate carriage negotiations.

Other leadership roles under Ellison are also taking shape. HBO and Max content chief Casey Bloys is expected to oversee combined streaming operations following the departure of Paramount streaming head Cindy Holland, while CNN chairman and CEO Mark Thompson has been asked to remain for at least the next year.