Skydance has settled the streaming side of its Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery combination. The television networks and studios are next, and George Cheeks is the name being discussed for the top job.
Cheeks, Paramount’s TV media chair, is in line for expanded oversight of the merged company’s television business, according to Variety. Skydance has not commented, and a final structure is not expected until next week. Deadline was first to report the potential role.
The TV talks follow the streaming decision: HBO’s Casey Bloys will lead streaming, while Paramount direct-to-consumer head Cindy Holland exits.
The television power map
Cheeks already oversees CBS and Paramount’s cable networks. The open question is whether the Warner Bros. Discovery portfolio folds under him: Warner Bros. TV Group, CBS Studios, Paramount Television Studios, and the U.S. networks that range from HGTV and Food Network to TNT, TBS, Adult Swim and Cartoon Network.
One scenario would hand Cheeks all of those assets. Another would split oversight between networks and studios. If Cheeks gets the broader remit, the critical variable is whether Channing Dungey stays and reports to him.
Dungey, who chairs Warner Bros. TV Group and WBD U.S. Networks, told Variety she wants a role that spans both sides: “The best-case scenario for me is something that allows me to continue to play around in both of these spaces.”
What Warner Bros. TV brings
The Warner Bros. TV Group unit under Dungey is a significant supplier, which raises the stakes for any integration.
- More than 80 original series across more than 20 platforms
- 13 new series orders and 13 renewals so far this year
- Six Emmys for “The Pitt,” including outstanding drama
- Oversight since 2025 of networks including Discovery, HGTV, Food Network, TLC, TNT, TBS, Adult Swim and Cartoon Network
For media planners and entertainment marketers, this is not a pure org-chart story. The reporting lines determine who controls pitches, licensing, supplier relationships and network inventory. A single TV leader would create a clearer buying conversation but also concentrate more decisions under one layer.
CBS Studios produces more than 60 series, and Paramount TV Studios carries the Taylor Sheridan slate. Warner Bros. TV has been a long-time CBS supplier, including the Chuck Lorre comedies, which insiders say has helped build a good rapport between Cheeks and Dungey.
What to watch before the announcement
The final structure is expected next week. The decisive signal is not just who reports to whom, but whether the three studio labels remain separate.
Currently, CBS Studios’ David Stapf and Paramount Television Studios’ Matt Thunell report to Cheeks, while Warner Bros. TV’s Brett Paul and Clancy Collins White report to Dungey. Separate labels would preserve distinct supplier relationships; a flattened structure would be a sharper integration.
Cheeks has spent years on both sides of this map. He was one of Paramount Global’s three co-CEOs before Skydance took control last August, and the only one of that group to stay. Earlier he ran CBS and held senior roles at NBCUniversal and Viacom’s MTV Networks.
Until the final structure lands, buyers should track reporting lines rather than assume the studios consolidate immediately.
Source: Variety
