Paramount Skydance expects another $1B in merger savings
Paramount Global and Skydance logos are seen in this image taken on December 17, 2024.
Dado Ruvic | Reuters
Paramount Skydance He expects $1 billion more in merger savings than previously anticipated, CEO David Ellison said Monday as he outlined his goals for the company.
The update came to Paramount third quarter earnings report – this is the first time this has happened since the company closed at the beginning of August. Ellison is investing heavily in broadcast and content, including live sports rights, and is paying for it in part through cuts to other parts of the business.
On Monday, Paramount announced a new round of layoffs affecting approximately 1,600 employees, tied to the divestiture of assets in Argentina and Chile. These cuts come weeks after Paramount began the process of laying off nearly 1,000 employees.
At the same time, Paramount said it plans to increase prices for its flagship streaming service, Paramount+, in the first quarter of next year to strengthen its content lineup and improve the platform’s technology.
Paramount last increased streaming prices in June 2024, following a previous increase in early 2023.
The company’s shares rose nearly 6% in extended trading Monday.
cut to grow
In his letter to shareholders Monday, Ellison mapped out what he called Paramount Skydance’s “North Star priorities” of the combined company’s initiatives. These include investing in growing businesses, growing the streaming business globally and identifying savings that will lead to “long-term free cash flow generation.”
While Paramount Skydance management told investors in August that they planned $2 billion in cost savings, as of Monday’s report, that figure had risen to “at least $3 billion in run rate efficiency.” According to the letter, more than $1.4 billion of these savings will be made by the end of the year, and $1 billion will be made by the end of 2026.
The company started laying off staff. Less than a month after the merger was completed, the company warned employees that it would happen. It will mandate a five-day work week starting in January and offer employees a buyout if they do not want to switch. According to Monday’s letter, approximately 600 employees chose to leave the company rather than return to the office full time.
The company has also identified parts of its business in South America to be cut, and said Monday it was divesting Television Federal, operator of TV stations in Buenos Aires and other markets in Argentina. Additionally, the process of exiting Chilevision in Chile, which is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2026, is ongoing.
These divestitures, deemed “non-essential” to the company’s future growth, will result in a workforce reduction of 1,600, according to the letter.
Flow, content in focus
Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison speaks at the Bloomberg Screentime conference in Los Angeles on October 9, 2025.
Patrick T. Fallon | Afp | Getty Images
While Paramount Skydance’s restructuring efforts, layoffs and cost savings are among the company’s top priorities, Ellison He wasted no time in making acquisitions to build his ingredient list.
Most importantly, the company is reportedly looking to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery Warner Bros. in a deal that would see it gain the movie studio, the HBO Max streaming service and a portfolio of cable TV networks that include CNN and TNT Sports. According to CNBC, Warner Bros. Discovery recently put itself up for sale and has turned down three offers from Ellison in recent weeks.
Ellison did not comment Monday on his ambitions for WBD but said the company is in build mode, which may or may not include mergers and acquisitions.
“I think it’s important to know that there are no must-haves for us,” he said. “We’re really looking at this as a buy or build, and we certainly have the ability to build to get where we want to go.”
On the sports front, Paramount Skydance has added TKO Group’s UFC to its roster in a 7-year, $7.7 billion deal. Paramount+ also special It is the long-term home of Zuffa Boxing, a new professional boxing promotion formed by TKO and Saudi-backed Sela in the US, Canada and Latin America.
The company also signed a deal with Activision to develop content from the Call of Duty video game series; Signed an exclusive 5-year deal with the creators of “South Park”; and hired Matt and Ross Duffer, the creative team behind it. of Netflix “Stranger Things” hits in mid-2026.
The additions to the content slate are aimed at increasing Paramount+ streaming subscribers. Paramount Skydance President Jeff Shell said during a call with investors that the service suffered significant customer losses over the summer but returned in the fall at the start of the NFL season.
On Monday, the company said Paramount+ has more than 79 million global subscribers.
