Ellison’s Hollywood Empire Reshapes the Power Map

David Ellison, 43, head of Paramount Skydance, is poised to unite Paramount Skydance with Warner Bros. Discovery, creating a uniquely powerful, family‑led Hollywood empire with Ellison sweeping control via a 77.5% voting stake and spanning CNN/CBS News, HBO Max, Paramount+, and two major studios. After antitrust settlements that imposed concessions (annual movie output, extra domestic production, and an independent board to safeguard CNN/CBS News), critics warn about consolidation’s risks to jobs and editorial independence amid a shrinking cable business and fierce competition from Netflix and YouTube, all while the integration of massive companies and debt load tests the ambitious deal’s execution.