George Cheeks tipped for expanded TV role at merged Skydance
George Cheeks is said to be in line for a bigger television job at the combined Paramount-Warner Bros. company, which will be called Skydance.
Variety reported the possible promotion on 2 October. Skydance declined to comment on the report.
Cheeks is already a central figure at Paramount. He is chair of TV media, a role covering CBS, the broadcast network, and Paramount's cable networks. He previously served as chief executive of CBS before taking the wider TV post.
He was also one of three co-CEOs who ran Paramount Global during its sale process, alongside Brian Robbins and Chris McCarthy. Cheeks was the only one of the three to move across to the new Skydance-controlled company after Skydance took control in August 2025.
One scenario now under discussion would put him in charge of all television holdings at the merged business. That outcome is not confirmed. Variety reported that a final structure for the networks and studios was not expected until next week from the time of its story.
A separate report on 2 October described the plan as placing three TV studios — Warner Bros. TV, CBS Studios and PTVS — under Cheeks. That remains unconfirmed by the company.
Other senior television roles are becoming clearer. HBO chief Casey Bloys will lead streaming at the merged company. Cindy Holland, Paramount's head of direct-to-consumer, meaning its streaming services, is leaving.
On the Warner Bros. side, Channing Dungey is chairman and chief executive of Warner Bros. TV Group and Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. Networks. She took on the U.S. networks oversight in 2025.
Her studio operation is large. It makes more than 80 original series for more than 20 platforms, according to Variety. So far in 2026, it has secured 13 new series orders, meaning commissions for new shows, and 13 renewals, meaning existing shows invited back for another season. One of its titles, hospital drama The Pitt, won six Emmys, including outstanding drama.
The leadership talk follows a long deal trail. Skydance closed its acquisition of Paramount in August 2025 in a deal valued at $8 billion, Variety reported at the time. Paramount Skydance then pursued Warner Bros. Discovery after Netflix declined to raise its own offer for the company in February 2026.
Regulatory pressure eased in September, when Paramount reached a settlement with California and other states that had sued to block the Warner Bros. merger. An earlier pause to deal talks had been extended to 17 August, Bloomberg reported in July.
What makes this stand out is scale. For viewers, the question is who supervises the channels and studios behind familiar shows. A single television chief would touch writers' rooms, crews and schedules across broadcast, cable and streaming. For now, that decision is still to come.
