Acquiring Warner Bros. never goes well for anyone. AOL failed, AT&T failed, and Discovery failed — although it did succeed in flipping the assets to David Ellison’s Skydance.
So I’m talking to Peter Kafka, Business Insider chief correspondent and host of Channels, to see if Skydance has a chance at succeeding where nobody else has yet. Spoiler alert: Peter doesn’t think Skydance has a clear business plan, either. But he’s got some really good guesses about what might come next.

Links:&nbsp;
<ul>
 <li>CNN boss remains as Paramount, WBD merge into Skydance | <a href="https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/1004734/cnn-ceo-mark-thompson-paramount-warner-bros">The Verge</a>
</li>
 <li>Skydance CEOs: Layoffs will be coming | <a href="https://variety.com/2026/film/news/skydance-ceo-memo-layoffs-paramount-warner-bros-merger-1236901335/">Variety</a>
</li>
 <li>Ynon Kriez, the new Skydance co-CEO | <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/skydance-warner-paramount-ceo-ynon-kreiz-who-is-david-ellison-2026-10?op=1">Business Insider</a>
</li>
 <li>Skydance sets leadership across games, experiences | <a href="https://variety.com/2026/gaming/news/skydance-games-experiences-products-leadership-1236903948/">Variety</a>
</li>
 <li>Paramount settles lawsuit blocking $110B WBD merger | <a href="https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/998302/paramount-warner-bros-discovery-merger-settlement">The Verge</a>&nbsp;
</li>
 <li>Larry Ellison’s big dumb gift to his large adult son | <a href="https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/845532/larry-ellison-paramount-wb-netflix-takeover-oracle">The Verge</a>
</li>
 <li>Weiss’ ratings wipeout | <a href="https://www.status.news/p/cbs-news-ratings-decline-bari-weiss">Status</a>
</li>
</ul>
<a href="https://www.theverge.com/subscribe">Subscribe to The Verge</a> to access the ad-free version of Decoder!

Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Decoder’s producers are Greg Ott, Kate Cox, and Nick Statt. This episode was edited by Ursa Wright. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a>

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