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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 vision, technological innovations and long-term strategy while Kreiz leads the integration of the two companies and handles day-to-day management and operations. "We have a unique opportunity to build the next generation media and entertainment global company that is powered by creativity and technology," Kreiz said. "We have the assets that David mentioned. We have the capability. We have the people. And all of this is happening at the point in time when the industry is at an inflection point, where it's getting harder and harder to reach the consumer and aggregate fans." Kreiz is a 30-year veteran of the media space with a reputation as a turnaround man. Ellison, who is also Skydance chairman, has spent more than 15 years as an on-set producer and has said he's looking to position Skydance as a creative hub for filmmakers. The executives will have a tall task at the helm of a media behemoth: As part of a settlement with a group of state attorneys general who sued to block the acquisition over antitrust concerns, Skydance has agreed to release at least 30 films into theaters annually in 2027 and 2028 and at least 32 films annually in 2029, 2030 and 2031. Currently, the combined entity has 35 films scheduled for release next year, according to data from Rentrak. Ellison has also said he plans to merge the Paramount+ and HBO Max streaming services. $6 billion in synergies Skydance must manage roughly $80 billion in debt as a result of the merger and has previously said it's targeting $6 billion in cost savings over the next three years. "There are absolutely operational efficiencies," Ellison said. "We've looked at this deal for over a year. We know where every single dollar is." Kreiz said Thursday those savings "will come from technology, marketing consolidation, real estate optimization, and some labor." The acquisition has spurred fears of layoffs from both inside the company and from industry onlookers. Ellison said Skydance has already unified ad sales across the platforms and is working to unify back-end tech stacks. "This is not about a few days of share trading, or even managing synergies for three years. We're building a company for future generations," Kreiz said. "But reducing the workforce is a part of that. We said that, we were public about it. But when it comes to making those decisions, of course, we're thinking of our people. We're going to do it in the right way, respectfully, transparently, and communicate our plans." CBS and CNN news divisions The acquisition also brings together two high-profile news networks, CBS and CNN, under one roof. CNN has long faced criticism from President Donald Trump and has faced heightened scrutiny from his administration in recent weeks, as the network was barred from certain access to the president as part of the White House television press pool. David Ellison's father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, is a longtime Trump ally, and fears of improper political influence over newsgathering operations have surrounded Skydance's pursuit of the CNN parent. Skydance's settlement with the state AGs included an agreement that the company would establish a new board to oversee CBS and CNN to ensure editorial independence. Skydance announced on Monday that Mark Thompson will remain in his current role as chairman and editor-in-chief of CNN Worldwide and that Bari Weiss would continue to serve as editor-in-chief of CBS News. Kreiz said Thursday the newsrooms would continue to run independently. "We'll look to keep the businesses run in parallel with independent editorial operation," Kreiz said. "We're so fortunate to have such successful, well-established, highly recognized brands in news." Ellison, meanwhile, said questions about the future of the news divisions were better left to Thompson and Weiss: "Corporate stays out of editorial."
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