Skydance international job down to two, with Paramount's MacLellan in front
Paramount international chief Kevin MacLellan looks set to run Skydance's business outside the United States.
The post covers everything the company does beyond America, from selling shows to broadcasters and streamers to running local channels. Skydance revealed its new top team without naming anyone for that job, leaving international as the big gap, according to Deadline.
Only two names have emerged for the role. MacLellan is the frontrunner. The other is Gerhard Zeiler, President of International at Warner Bros. Discovery. No other contenders have surfaced, and an announcement is expected in the coming days, possibly with the next group of executive appointments.
MacLellan has a strong relationship with Skydance co-CEO David Ellison. He was named President of International and Global Content Distribution at Paramount on the same day Skydance bought the studio in 2025.
That remit is wide. It includes content sales around the world as well as Channel 5 in the UK and Network 10 in Australia, according to Broadcast Now. Before Paramount, MacLellan led NBCUniversal's international TV business from 2011 to 2013, then spent seven years as its global distribution chief before leaving in 2020.
Zeiler brings a long rival record in global television. He joined from Germany's RTL Group, where he was chief executive, to lead the international arm of Turner Broadcasting System during the Time Warner era. After AT&T bought Time Warner, he stayed in charge of Turner internationally and was later put in charge of all WarnerMedia businesses outside the US. He kept the international role after Discovery took over Warner Bros. in 2022.
He is also well known in the industry at the moment. Zeiler is President of International for Warner Bros. Discovery and will receive the 2026 International Emmy Directorate Award, according to Variety.
What makes this stand out is Zeiler's other ambition. In recent Austrian press interviews he said he would like to lead Austria's centre-left Social Democratic Party, the SPÖ. Current leader Andreas Babler has said he will step down early next year after pressure and falling poll numbers.
Zeiler was quoted telling Austrian press: "I believe I am the right person to lead the party out of this historic low." It is not a new interest. He previously tried to become SPÖ chairman and has kept a foothold in politics over the past decade. Austrian newspaper Krone reports he has been discussed as a possible party leader for 22 years.
For viewers, this matters because the international chief helps decide where shows land and how fast they travel. That person signs sales, manages local channels and sets release windows, meaning the gaps between a US premiere and arrival elsewhere.
