Skydance's David Ellison Aims for Tech Expansion Amid Stock Woes

WHO:

CNN - David Ellison, CEO of Skydance; Ynon Kreiz, co-CEO of Skydance; Larry Ellison, Oracle co-founder; David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery; Laura Martin, analyst at Needham & Co.; Ross Benes, Senior Analyst at eMarketer; Janet Grillo, professor at NYU; Gerry Cardinale, architect of the merger; Nikhil Mehta, new hire at Skydance.

WHAT:

CNN - Skydance aims to transform into a tech company following the merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.

Deadline - Skydance shares closed down about 7% in the second day of trading after a dip on the first day.

CNN - The merger creates a new formidable global streaming competitor and unites two of the five biggest Hollywood studios.

CNN - Skydance has roughly $80 billion in debt and an aggressive timeline to pay it down.

WHERE:

CNN - The merger involves Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, major players in Hollywood.

WHEN:

CNN - The mega-merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery took effect on a Tuesday.

CNN - David Ellison will ring the opening bell later this week.

WHY:

CNN - The merger is seen as a strategy to gain scale in the streaming wars and improve technology capabilities.

CNN - Ellison's motivation includes the need to compete with Silicon Valley tech companies.

HOW:

CNN - Skydance plans to employ artificial intelligence tools throughout the business, which Ellison has called a “force multiplier.”

CNN - The company will streamline overlapping tech platforms from Paramount and Warner.

CNN - Skydance executives promise to unify the tech stacks across direct-to-consumer services.

(UPDATED October 7, 2026 22:06 UTC)

Skydance is set to transform into a tech company following its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, creating a formidable global streaming competitor and uniting two of Hollywood's largest studios. However, Skydance shares have taken a hit, closing down about seven percent on the second day of trading after a dip on the first day, and the company faces a hefty $80 billion in debt with an aggressive plan to pay it down. As part of its strategy to compete with Silicon Valley tech giants, Skydance will implement artificial intelligence tools across its business and streamline tech platforms from both Paramount and Warner.