Skydance reshuffles distribution leadership after Paramount-WBD merger

Distribution leadership

Skydance said in a staff memo reported by Reuters on Tuesday that Sarah Bergman, executive vice president of networks and streaming distribution at Warner Bros. Discovery, and Mickey Carter, Paramount's executive vice president of US distribution, will lead the combined distribution business. The appointments put a WBD distribution executive and Paramount's US distribution chief over the combined operation, part of a leadership shuffle that eliminated some roles and reassigned others.

Eight executives are leaving: Rivka Golomb, Kelly Kane, Jeff Cross and Rich Palermo from WBD, and David Comisar, Kurt Davis, Deena Demasi and Ken Kay from Paramount. Seven others take new executive roles. Variety reported that Brad Shipley, executive vice president of business development and strategy, will handle strategy, partnerships, Pluto TV and FAST distribution, plus the Skydance Global Sports Group. Patrick Cavanaugh, the CFO, takes streaming negotiations. Rick Baker, executive vice president and deputy general counsel, leads business and legal for linear and streaming.

Joe Bahr, senior vice president of partner operations, will handle partner operations. Andrew Borak, a senior vice president, will lead marketing. Bob Aguanno, senior vice president of CBS affiliate relations, will work with the CBS Network affiliate board to manage relationships with affiliate TV stations. John Bagwell, a senior vice president, will lead general counsel negotiations on affiliate contracts.

Buyouts and cost target

The reshuffle follows Skydance's one-time voluntary buyout for eligible employees, announced in an internal memo on Monday by Chairman and CEO David Ellison and co-CEO Ynon Kreiz. Employees who qualify will receive individual communications detailing their offers and the deadline to decide whether to accept them. Eligibility requirements and decision deadlines vary depending on factors including employment status. In general, employees have until around the second week of November to decide whether to participate.

The executives described the program as an opportunity for eligible employees to move on under terms tailored to their circumstances. The company has not disclosed how many employees qualify for the program, how many may accept the offers or the total number of positions that could ultimately be eliminated.

Skydance executives have said they aim to achieve more than $6 billion in annualized cost savings within three years. Layoffs are expected to contribute to those savings, although the company has not announced the scale of the anticipated job cuts. An August report from Los Angeles County estimated that the merger could result in the loss of approximately 4,500 film and television jobs in the county over three years.

The buyout program follows the Oct. 6 completion of Paramount's acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. In a memo issued on the day the transaction closed, Ellison and Kreiz acknowledged that the integration would affect employees. "Integrating two companies will bring change, including difficult decisions that affect our workforce," they wrote, adding that they were committed to handling the process thoughtfully and respectfully. The company has not provided a final figure for potential job cuts as the integration continues.