Paramount Closes $110 Billion Warner Deal, Putting CNN and CBS Under One Owner
Paramount Skydance completed its purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery on October 6, 2026, placing CNN and CBS News under common corporate ownership. The transaction was valued at about $110 billion including debt, according to reporting published October 7. Al Jazeera
The combined company is named Skydance Corporation. Its portfolio includes HBO, CBS, Nickelodeon, Showtime, Comedy Central, DC Studios and Food Network, along with the Paramount+ and HBO Max streaming services. In effect, two large U.S. television news operations, a major studio and cable lineup, and two streaming platforms now share one balance sheet, or one set of company finances.
Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders approved the transaction on April 23, 2026. Under the merger agreement, they were to receive $31.00 per share in cash for each share of common stock. WBD At that time the parties expected closing in the third quarter. Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery later pointed to September 30, 2026 as the anticipated closing date. Paramount said it had satisfied all regulatory conditions under the merger agreement after securing clearances in nearly 70 countries.
Financing was arranged at large scale. On September 30, 2026, Paramount Skydance announced a $41.4 billion and €885 million offering of senior secured notes, which are corporate bonds backed by company assets, alongside pricing of $8.5 billion and €850 million Term Loan B facilities, which are large bank loans often used to fund takeovers. On October 6, Skydance announced the expiration, pricing terms and settlement of related exchange offers and tender offers for Warner debt, or offers to swap or buy back existing bonds. Warner Bros. Discovery has directed investors to ir.Skydance.com for news, SEC filings and financial information going forward.
The path to closing included a competing bid. Netflix had initially reached an agreement to buy part of Warner Bros. Discovery before Paramount launched a rival bid. Netflix then walked away.
Leadership of the combined entity is shared. David Ellison serves as chairman and chief executive of Skydance and has promised to preserve editorial independence at CNN and CBS News, meaning freedom for journalists to make news decisions without owner interference. He named Ynon Kreiz as co-CEO at closing. On October 5, Ellison and Kreiz announced their CEO leadership team for the combined group. On October 6, Skydance said Kreiz, Laurene Powell Jobs and Bobby Kotick had joined its board of directors, with former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair joining as an advisor.
Political and financial links around the deal have drawn attention. Larry Ellison, Oracle cofounder and father of David Ellison, was a major financial backer of the takeover. He has previously donated funds to U.S. President Donald Trump and to Israel. Trump publicly welcomed the takeover, saying "They're terrific people, and it's going to be a great company."
Antitrust challenges and September settlements
The deal faced two U.S. legal challenges. A California-led coalition of 12 state attorneys general sued to block it on grounds it would reduce competition and raise prices. The Writers Guild of America, the union for screenwriters, brought a separate challenge. Both cases were settled in September. Paramount agreed to commitments on film production, support for displaced workers, and protections for the news networks. Central to the news protections is a five-member News Editorial Independence Board to be established within 180 days of completion. Members are to include active or retired journalists with at least 10 years of experience. They will be appointed by and report to Skydance's board of directors, which David Ellison chairs.
Two newsrooms, one owner
How CNN and CBS News will operate together remains unresolved. As of October 1, Paramount executives were still deciding how the two organizations would work together once combined. Reuters Ellison asked CNN chief Mark Thompson to stay on after the deal, a request reported that day. After the merger took effect, Ellison held an employee town hall to introduce the newly combined company. In October 2026, he backed CNN's lawsuit involving Trump, a position reported as an early test of his pledge on editorial independence. CNN
The broader context here is concentration of distribution and news gathering in one corporate structure, and whether written safeguards can balance that control. For media competition, the practical questions are carriage negotiations, or deals with cable providers to carry channels, bundling of Paramount+ and HBO Max, pricing power in advertising, and commissioning terms, or deal terms, for independent producers. The September settlements cover film production and worker support, but enforcement will depend on how those commitments are measured over time.
For press-freedom observers looking at the design, the issue is less the stated promise than how oversight is structured. A board appointed by and reporting to the board Ellison chairs differs from external oversight or a charter with enforceable power to intervene. Its credibility will turn on who is appointed in practice, access to newsroom leadership, public reporting, and handling of the first dispute over coverage involving the owners' political or commercial interests. Ellison's support for Thompson remaining and for CNN's litigation position are early data points. They do not settle the longer question of how resources will be divided between two national news operations that now compete internally for budget and prominence.
