Skydance names global distribution co-heads and says eight executives will leave posts

The memo, reviewed by Reuters on Tuesday, 3 November 2026, says Ray Hopkins, Skydance's president of distribution, issued the announcement. Bergman was executive vice president of networks and streaming distribution at Warner Bros. Discovery. Carter was executive vice president of US distribution at Paramount. They will lead distribution strategy across cable, satellite, broadcast and streaming.

Two appointments, eight departures

The eight executives leaving their posts are split evenly between the two legacy studios:

• Rivka Golomb, Kelly Kane, Jeff Cross and Rich Palermo from Warner Bros. Discovery
• David Comisar, Kurt Davis, Deena Demasi and Ken Kay from Paramount

Jeff Cross, Warner's former executive vice president of legal and commercial partnerships, will leave his executive post but remain a senior advisor. Rick Baker, Paramount's former executive vice president and deputy general counsel for distribution business and legal affairs, will take over Cross's responsibilities, the memo says.

Cost cuts against $80bn of debt

Skydance is targeting at least $6bn of run-rate synergies within three years. The company has said much of the savings will come from technology integration, procurement, marketing and real estate, with some from combining streaming technology and cloud infrastructure rather than labour alone.

The takeover closed on 6 October and left Skydance with about $80bn of debt. Paramount priced $41.4bn of senior secured notes and took out an $8.5bn term loan to fund the purchase, part of a financing package of about $50bn, after Apollo, Bank of America and Citigroup initially provided $57.5bn of funding that was later reduced to $49bn and sold to 18 banks. At current rates the debt will cost at least $4bn a year in interest, and likely $6bn to $7bn, against operating income of $1.1bn in the first half of 2026.

S&P Global had a BB+ rating on Paramount Skydance, below investment grade, and put the company on review for a possible downgrade, citing debt above its 4.25 times threshold. S&P estimated debt could initially reach 7.6 times adjusted earnings. Fitch Ratings downgraded the long-term issuer default rating to BB+ from BBB- and placed all ratings on watch negative. The $41.4bn of secured notes priced for the deal dwarf the company's $10.77bn market capitalisation.

What the distribution change has to deliver

Combining the Paramount and Warner Bros. libraries, including Harry Potter, DC, Star Trek and CBS, increases bargaining power with cable distributors, talent agencies and sports leagues, according to 24/7 Wall St.

Skydance projects a combined workforce of roughly 53,000 based on 2025 filings and offered staff a voluntary one-time buyout last month ahead of mandatory return-to-office plans, the memo said. Management targets net debt of 3.75 times adjusted earnings in 2028 and 3.0 times in 2029, and more than $10bn of free cash flow by 2030.

Interest must be paid before money returns to content production, 24/7 Wall St reported. The combined businesses generated roughly $65bn of revenue over the previous year and counted more than 200 million direct-to-consumer subscribers.