Skydance is reorganizing a broad television and streaming operation after combining Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, while targeting billions in savings and leaving the effects on partners and viewers unclear.
Skydance is reorganizing a broad television and streaming distribution operation after combining Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, as it pursues $6 billion in annualized cost savings. The reshuffle puts new executives in charge of negotiations and partner relationships across broadcast stations, cable networks, streaming services and free ad-supported channels.
Variety reported Nov. 4 that Sarah Bergman and Mickey Carter will serve as co-executive vice presidents of distribution, dividing responsibility for negotiations and partner management. Their unit covers CBS-owned stations, 55 basic-cable networks, Paramount+, HBO Max, Discovery+, Pluto TV and more than 100 free ad-supported streaming television channels.
Eight executives are leaving: Rivka Golomb, Kelly Kane, Jeff Cross and Rich Palermo from Warner Bros. Discovery, and David Comisar, Kurt Davis, Deena Demasi and Ken Kay from Paramount, Variety reported. Cross will remain as a senior adviser. Brad Shipley will oversee strategy, growth partnerships, Pluto TV and FAST distribution, advanced advertising partnerships, business planning and analytics. Patrick Cavanaugh will lead distribution finance, and Rick Baker will oversee distribution business and legal affairs.
Other appointments cover partner and affiliate work. Joe Bahr will manage partner operations, while Andrew Borak will lead combined distribution marketing. Bob Aguanno will oversee relationships with roughly 200 CBS affiliate television stations; John Bagwell will negotiate station-group and CBS Network affiliate-board contracts, according to Variety.
Distribution is where media companies negotiate access to audiences and the terms under which programming reaches cable systems, streaming platforms and local stations. A company operating across this many outlets may have considerable reach in those negotiations. But the reporting does not establish that Skydance has imposed unfair terms or that the reorganization itself will reduce competition.
The changes extend beyond distribution. In an Oct. 29 memo from JB Perrette, Jeff Cusson was named communications chief; Shauna Spenley, chief marketing officer for global direct-to-consumer and international television; Trey Turner, international chief operating officer; Josh Walker, direct-to-consumer chief operating officer; and Liz Wright, chief financial officer of the Skydance TV segment, Variety reported.
That reorganization also removed seven executives: Dan Barnes, Michael Bishara, Jamie Cooke, Domenic DiMeglio, Marco Nobili, Pank Patel and Juan Sola. Efrain Miron is leaving the direct-to-consumer organization for another role within the company, while Ronald Goes is moving to Skydance TV Studios under Channing Dungey.
Variety reported that Skydance is targeting $6 billion in annualized savings, with mass layoffs expected before the end of 2026. An Oct. 26 companywide memo offered eligible employees voluntary buyouts. The reports do not specify which operations or services will bear the reductions.
Cost savings can be presented as merger efficiencies, but they do not show whether benefits will reach consumers, affiliates or other business partners. The available reporting also does not establish whether viewers will face higher prices, fewer choices or programming changes. Those effects remain unclear.
The questions for regulators and market observers are how the combined company negotiates with distributors and platforms, whether local affiliates retain meaningful bargaining power, and whether cost reductions affect the range of content and services available. The reports provide organizational details, but no new FTC or Justice Department action, antitrust finding or evidence of changed consumer prices.
For now, the documented development is a restructuring of a major media distribution business alongside a substantial cost-cutting effort. Whether the combined company’s reach translates into greater bargaining power—or harm to viewers and smaller partners—cannot be determined from the leadership changes alone.
Greg Sanders serves as the Senior Correspondent for Corporate Power and Antitrust at Just Right News, where he brings a principled, conservative perspective to the complex intersection of big business, government regulation, and the American consumer. With a career dedicated to investigative depth and economic clarity, Greg has become a leading voice in examining how the consolidation of industry power impacts the foundational values of the free market and individual liberty.
Raised in Denver, Colorado, Greg’s reporting is deeply informed by the Western spirit of independence and a healthy skepticism of centralized authority. Growing up in the shadows of the Rockies, he witnessed firsthand the importance of local entrepreneurship and the vital role that small-medium enterprises play in sustaining vibrant communities. This upbringing instilled in him a belief that the American Dream is best preserved when the playing field remains level and when competition—rather than backroom deals between corporate lobbyists and federal regulators—dictates success. For Greg, the rugged individualism of his home state serves as a constant reminder that the economy should serve the people, not the other way around.
Now based in Chicago, Illinois, Greg operates from the heart of the nation’s industrial and financial crossroads. His location in the Midwest provides him with a unique vantage point to observe the real-world consequences of corporate overreach. From the boardrooms of the Loop to the manufacturing hubs that define the region, he tracks the movement of capital and the shifting tides of market influence. Chicago’s history as a center of trade and labor offers a rich backdrop for his work, allowing him to bridge the gap between high-level economic theory and the lived experiences of hardworking Americans who feel the squeeze of monopolistic practices.
At Just Right News, Greg’s beat focuses on the “new monopolies” and the rise of “woke” corporate culture. He argues that when corporations become too large, they often abandon their fiduciary duties to shareholders in favor of social engineering and political posturing. His reporting seeks to hold these “Titans” accountable, ensuring that the power of the purse is not used to silence dissent or bypass the democratic process. He is a firm advocate for the idea that true conservatism requires a vigilant defense of competition, preventing any single entity—public or private—from exerting undue control over the lives of citizens.
This mission is most clearly seen in his acclaimed feature series, “The Titans and the Toll.” In this ongoing project, Greg explores the human cost of market consolidation, from the erosion of consumer choice to the decline of local economies. Through rigorous analysis and boots-on-the-ground reporting, he documents how the concentration of power in sectors like tech, agriculture, and finance creates a “toll” paid by the average family.
Greg Sanders remains committed to the idea that a transparent, competitive market is the greatest engine for prosperity ever devised. Through his work at Just Right News, he continues to provide the essential oversight necessary to protect that engine from the encroaching influence of corporate giants and the bureaucratic structures that enable them.