Paramount and Warner Bros. set to become Skydance on Oct 6
The Paramount Warner Bros. merger is set to close Oct 6 under the Skydance name. What it changes for Paramount+, HBO Max, CBS and CNN, and what it doesn't.
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The company formed by Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery will be called Skydance, and the name is set to take effect on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, the day the roughly $110 billion merger is expected to close, subject to customary closing conditions. For viewers, the Paramount Warner Bros. Skydance name is a label on the parent company: Paramount+, HBO Max, CBS, CNN and DC keep their own names, and nobody has announced a price change.
Key takeaways
- The merger is expected to close October 6, subject to customary closing conditions. Skydance is the name of the parent company from that day, if the deal closes as planned.
- Your apps keep their names for now. David Ellison named Paramount+, HBO Max, CBS, CNN and DC among the brands that stay.
- Paramount already plans to combine Paramount+ and HBO Max into one platform, but it hasn't said when, under what name or at what price.
- On Wall Street, the company is set to become Skydance Corporation and trade on the New York Stock Exchange as SKYD, according to Reuters.
What changed: the Skydance name
David Ellison, CEO of Paramount Skydance, announced the name on Friday, October 2, in a post on X from a new account, as TechCrunch reported. Skydance is the production company Ellison founded, which merged with Paramount in 2025. He wrote that the company "never wanted a new corporate identity to diminish, alter or overshadow" Paramount or Warner Bros.
The paperwork follows on closing day. Reuters reports that the company plans to change its legal name to Skydance Corporation on October 6, and that its Class B shares are expected to move from Nasdaq to the New York Stock Exchange the same day, trading as SKYD instead of PSKY. Reuters also reports that former Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz was named co-CEO to run day-to-day operations and the integration, with a target of $6 billion in cost savings and about $80 billion in combined debt.
What the Paramount Warner Bros. Skydance name means for your apps
Not much on day one. Ellison's post lists the brands that stay in front of viewers, according to TechCrunch: Paramount+ and HBO Max, the CBS, CNN, MTV, TBS, Comedy Central and Food Network channels, and franchises such as DC, Game of Thrones, The Lord of the Rings and Yellowstone.
The bigger change for subscribers was announced months ago. On March 2, Ellison told investors that Paramount+ and HBO Max will combine into a single streaming platform after the deal closes, with more than 200 million subscribers between them. "HBO should stay HBO," he said, which suggests HBO keeps its own identity inside the larger service. That reading is ours; Paramount hasn't shown how the app will look.
What nobody has said yet, as of October 4:
- When the two apps become one.
- What the combined service will be called. 9to5Mac points out that Skydance is the corporate name, and it's unclear whether it will appear on the app at all.
- How much it will cost. Paramount executives gave no pricing details when they announced the plan.
Until Paramount says more, your current Paramount+ or HBO Max plan and price are the ones you have.
What happens to CBS and CNN
Both networks keep their names, and the court settlement that cleared the deal adds one protection for their newsrooms. The terms published by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, on behalf of 12 states, include "a News Editorial Independence Board" to help CNN and CBS keep their editorial independence. The settlement also requires the company to keep offering a free streaming service like Pluto TV, to negotiate Paramount's and Warner's basic cable channels separately for five years, and to release at least 30 films a year in theaters.
What happens on October 6
The two companies announced on September 30 that they expect the Paramount Warner Bros. merger to close on October 6, "subject to customary closing conditions." That came after a federal judge approved the settlement with the 12 states the same week. At closing, Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders get $31 in cash per share, plus a small daily fee counted from September 30.
If it closes on schedule, Tuesday is when Skydance becomes the parent of Paramount, Warner Bros., HBO and CNN. Warner Bros. Games moves with the rest of the company; we covered what happens to the Warner Bros. Games studios separately. After that, watch for the first announcements on the combined streaming app: its name, its launch date and its prices.
Bottom line
The Paramount Warner Bros. Skydance name is new for the company, not for anything you watch. If the merger closes as expected on October 6, subject to customary closing conditions, Paramount+, HBO Max, CBS, CNN and DC keep their names, and no price change has been announced. The change to watch is the planned single Paramount+ and HBO Max platform, which still has no date, name or price. More coverage is in the tech section and on the Paramount tag.
FAQ
Is HBO Max being renamed Skydance?
No announcement says so. Skydance is the name of the parent company, and Ellison listed HBO Max and Paramount+ among the brands that stay. The name of the planned combined streaming service hasn't been announced.
Will Paramount+ and HBO Max prices go up?
Paramount hasn't announced any price change. Executives said in March that the two services will combine into one platform after the deal closes, but gave no pricing details.
When does the Skydance merger close?
The companies expect it to close on October 6, 2026, subject to customary closing conditions. The legal name change to Skydance Corporation and the move to the NYSE as SKYD are planned for the same day, according to Reuters.