Channing Dungey is expected to take on a much larger cable remit inside Skydance, the newly named combination of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery. The Warner Bros. Television Group chair and CEO would add oversight of Paramount’s cable networks while continuing to run the WBTV studio and WBD’s US networks, Deadline reports.
The move concentrates one of the largest portfolios of linear television brands in the US under a single executive. It comes as Skydance prepares to unveil its official leadership structure early in the week of Oct. 6, when Paramount’s acquisition of WBD is set to close.
The reporting lines
Under the emerging structure, Paramount’s Chair of TV Media George Cheeks would oversee Warner Bros. Television and Paramount Television Studios alongside CBS Studios. Dungey and Paramount Television Studios President Matt Thunell would report to Cheeks, as would CBS Studios President David Stapf.
Dungey would report to Cheeks on both the studio and cable network side. The Paramount cable group she would inherit includes the core four — MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and BET — plus VH1, Paramount Network, TV Land, CMT, Pop TV and Logo TV.
That sits alongside her current WBD linear portfolio:
- Discovery Channel, Food Network, HGTV, Investigation Discovery and TLC
- Adult Swim, Animal Planet, Cartoon Network, HLN and OWN
- TBS, TNT, Travel Channel, truTV and Turner Classic Movies
Why Dungey
Dungey added oversight of WBD’s basic cable networks at the end of 2024. Since then, Deadline notes, Shark Week 2026 delivered its biggest ratings growth in more than a decade, Puppy Bowl drew its largest audience in eight years, Food Network achieved its first quarterly ratings growth in five years in Q1 2026, and HGTV posted its strongest year-over-year gains in nearly two decades.
The new structure also elevates Thunell, putting him on the same level as Dungey and Stapf. Their units, both focused on development and production for streaming, are expected to work closely together. Early programming synergies already point to that overlap: a Bachelor Mansion crossover with HGTV and a Season 1 run of The Pitt on TNT.
The antitrust watch item
The size of the combined cable footprint was a central concern in the lawsuit filed by 12 state attorneys general. The settlement stipulates that Paramount and Warner Bros. must continue negotiating their cable packages separately. If Skydance fails to comply, it would have to divest several Paramount brands, including BET and its sibling channels, VH1, Comedy Central, Smithsonian, Destination America and Science.
For media planners and entertainment marketers, that is the operational detail to watch. The combined company can centralise creative and ratings leadership under Dungey, but carriage negotiations remain legally separated. That means distribution strategy, pricing and packaging may stay more fragmented than the new org chart suggests.
Source: Deadline
