Skydance leadership unveiled: what it means for Network 10 and Paramount+ in Australia – Paramount has named the executives expected to run its enlarged Skydance company after the Warner Bros. Discovery takeover. The appointments give Australian viewers a clearer picture of who will oversee television and streaming globally, but they do not announce a change of management at Network 10 or a new Paramount+ app.
At the top will be chairman and chief executive David Ellison and co-chief executive Ynon Kreiz. Ellison will concentrate on strategy, creative direction and major investments; Kreiz will manage day-to-day operations and the integration of the two businesses. Andy Gordon becomes president. The appointments are subject to completion of the deal, which the companies expect on 6 October in the United States.
For Australia, the important distinction is between this new global structure and local management. Paramount Australia and New Zealand still publicly identifies Beverley McGarvey as president of Network 10, head of streaming and regional lead for Australia and New Zealand. No replacement for McGarvey, changed Australian reporting line or merger of the local Network 10 and Warner Bros. Discovery teams was announced in the new leadership statement.
Who will oversee Network 10?
The clearest global television appointments are George Cheeks and JB Perrette. Cheeks becomes co-chair and chief content officer of Skydance TV. Paramount says the division will span television studios, networks, sports and cable brands, including international operations. Perrette is co-chair and chief business officer of both Skydance TV and Skydance Direct-to-Consumer. His remit explicitly includes global distribution, advertising sales, content sales, marketing and business operations.
That makes Cheeks and Perrette important figures for the television business above Australia. It does not establish that either is taking over the day-to-day running of Network 10. Paramount’s current Australia and New Zealand leadership page continues to place McGarvey over Network 10 and streaming locally. The company has not published an organisation chart showing precisely how her position will report into the enlarged group.
Cheeks’ portfolio also includes Warner Bros. Television Studios, CBS Studios and Paramount Television Studios, plus CBS and its US stations. Perrette comes from Warner Bros. Discovery, where he led global streaming and games. In other words, the new Skydance TV division combines leaders and assets from both sides of the deal rather than simply putting all of Warner Bros. under the old Paramount team.
Who will oversee Paramount+ and HBO Max?
Casey Bloys, the HBO executive, has been named co-chair and chief content officer of Skydance Direct-to-Consumer. Paramount’s official announcement says his responsibilities include original programming for both HBO Max and Paramount+, along with streaming strategy, operations, communications and performance. Perrette shares leadership of the direct-to-consumer business on its commercial side, including distribution, DTC strategy and marketing.
For the Australian market, that is a significant global change: the creative oversight of Paramount+ originals and HBO Max originals now sits under the same senior executive. However, it is not an announcement that every local commission, licence or programme decision has moved out of Australia. McGarvey remains the named head of Paramount’s Australian streaming business on the company’s local leadership page, and the new statement gives no replacement for her or a specific Australian streaming management structure.
It also does not settle what customers will eventually see on their screens. The statement uses the names Paramount+ and HBO Max separately and calls the internal division Skydance DTC. That is a corporate division name, not a confirmed consumer streaming brand. Earlier merger plans discussed bringing the services closer together, but this announcement sets no Australian date, price, bundle, combined-app name, account migration or content-transfer plan. A viewer should not assume that either subscription changes at the moment the corporate deal closes.
The wider leadership team
The Deadline report places the appointments in the context of the merger’s final days. Cindy Holland, who had chaired Paramount’s direct-to-consumer business, is leaving. Her departure had raised the question of who would lead streaming; the Bloys and Perrette appointments now answer that at the top level.
On the film side, Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein will co-chair the Skydance Motion Picture Group, overseeing Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. James Gunn and Peter Safran will remain co-chairmen of DC Studios. Mark Thompson has been named chairman and editor-in-chief of CNN Worldwide, while Bari Weiss remains editor-in-chief of CBS News. These are global appointments; they are not changes to Network 10’s news leadership.
The corporate leadership team also includes Dennis Cinelli as chief financial officer, Makan Delrahim as chief legal officer and president of global corporate affairs, Dane Glasgow as chief product officer, Rebecca Mall as chief marketing officer and Melissa Zukerman as chief communications officer. Paramount says a fuller executive leadership list will follow shortly after the takeover closes. That next list may provide more detail on regional responsibilities, although the company has not promised an Australia-specific announcement.
What Australian viewers should watch for next
The confirmed position is narrower than the possible long-term impact. Network 10, 10’s streaming service and Paramount+ remain established Australian brands; HBO Max is also available here. The enlarged owner will have leadership spanning those businesses, but has not announced a change to Network 10’s schedule, Paramount+ subscriptions, HBO Max pricing, local production commitments or the identities of the people running the Australian operations.
TV Central’s reading of the announcement is therefore straightforward: McGarvey is still the publicly named local leader; Cheeks, Bloys and Perrette take different global responsibilities above television and streaming; the missing piece is the reporting structure that connects them to Australia. Until Skydance publishes that detail, it would be premature to present a new executive as the direct head of Channel 10 or to describe Paramount+ and HBO Max as one Australian service.
For more TV Central Paramount+ news, read our earlier explanation of the Skydance corporate name and the unanswered streaming questions. The public Paramount Australia and New Zealand leadership page lists the current local team.