Berson to lead Skydance-Warner sports if deal closes, Silberwasser to exit
David Berson is lined up to lead sport across a combined Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery, with Warner sports chief Luis Silberwasser to depart.
The plan would take effect only if Skydance completes its purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery, according to Variety on 5 October 2026. It would place two large sports portfolios under one executive. The same report presents Silberwasser's exit as part of that change at the top.
Berson is the head of CBS Sports. He was named to succeed Sean McManus as president and chief executive of CBS Sports under a transition plan announced by Paramount in September 2023, which set McManus to retire in April 2024, according to Paramount. That appointment put him at the top of an established US television sports operation.
A combined organisation would unite distinct media rights, meaning the contracts that decide who can show which games and where. On the CBS side, that includes coverage of the NFL, the professional American football league, and the Masters golf tournament. On the Warner side, it includes NHL ice hockey, Major League Baseball games and the US rights to the French Open at Roland-Garros. Those deals shape what fans can watch on free-to-air television, what sits behind a subscription and what streams live.
The two sides already work together on one major event. CBS and Warner share rights to NCAA March Madness, the annual US college basketball championship, after CBS opened the games to Warner in 2010.
At CBS, Berson supervised the alignment of sports coverage with Paramount+, the streaming hub where matches and related programming can also appear. He has been involved in rights negotiations around PGA Tour golf, another contract for US sports television.
Silberwasser's period in charge of Warner sports added several properties. They include the College Football Playoff, NASCAR stock-car racing, Big 12 college football and basketball, BIG EAST college basketball, the FIFA Club World Cup and the FIBA basketball World Cup. Each addition widened the list of live events Warner could offer to viewers and to advertisers who buy time around games. Warner also expanded live sport onto HBO Max, its streaming service, and formed a media partnership backed by investment in Unrivaled, a women's sports league.
For fans, this means one leadership team. One group would oversee how professional football, golf, hockey, baseball, tennis and college sport are scheduled across broadcast channels and streaming. No on-air change follows until any acquisition is completed. Schedules, presenters and apps stay as they are for now.
