Who Is in Charge at Skydance International – At Least for Now

When the Skydance C lineup was unveiled last week with key lieutenants of David Ellison, the international side of this puzzle remained largely unsolved. The senior executive roster did not answer who will oversee the significant presence of the legacy company Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) outside the United States, where hundreds […]

When the Skydance C collection featuring key lieutenants Davis Ellison was unveiled last week, the international part of the puzzle remained largely unsolved.

The list of senior executives did not respond to questions about who will oversee Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery's (WBD) significant presence outside the US, which has hundreds of employees worldwide in streaming, television networks such as Britain's 5 and Australia's Channel Ten, and distribution of some of the biggest TV shows outside the US.

That left international insiders we spoke to last week feeling a little lost, and they were none the wiser after Ellison's town hall meeting on Wednesday. "Everybody's in the dark right now, and I think that's probably true for everybody around the world," a Warner insider said later that day. Related News Hot Cold War News "Honey" Gets First Sales After Making World News at Cannes

Over the past few days, that question has been slowly answered, at least at the top of the chain, but with caveats. Watch on Deadline

JB Pratt, one of the big winners of the $110 billion merger, will serve as Co-Chair & Chief Business Officer, Skydance TV and Co-Chair & Chief Business Officer, Skydance Direct-To-Consumer as part of his new role in networks outside the US. One insider we spoke to described her role as one of the most important roles in the new Skydance, given the scope of the role.

Pratt is well known in international circles and has spent a lot of time abroad over the past 15 years, first at Discovery, where he rose to President and CEO of Discovery Networks International, and then at WBD Merger, where as part of his role as President and CEO of Global Streaming & Games, he led the global launch of HBO Max, and HBOnot's Skyput's named of the HBO Max. For example, England, Germany and Italy. That one has now been resolved, and HBO Max is busy building around the world and commissioning local originals under the supervision of Sarah Aubrey and a team of agents in various countries.

Pratt's new role technically includes global distribution, but it will be his trusted new lieutenant, David Dekker, who is in that particular role, as he has taken over as head of content sales and acquired huge franchises from the Paramount and Warner libraries, including NCIS, The Big Bang Theory, The Bachelor Worldwide and Stark.

It's a good time for former WBD content sales director Dekker, with the biggest international TV market of the year, MIPCOM Cannes, well underway. He's got a busy schedule this week as buyers look to Skydance's new content sales team, and we've heard he's encouraging a casual approach with his sellers.

Decker is one of three new reports to Pratt Chief Revenue Officer Jay Askinassi and Head of Distribution Ray Hopkins. Still, the meaty roles of Pratt and Dekker still leave gaps — a little further down the international chain, questions remain about how territories are divided and who looks after what.

We can reveal today that CBS chief executive Brian Rubin will take charge of free-to-air networks 5 and Ten on at least an interim basis, although a more permanent future for the networks is expected to be announced in the next few weeks.

Rubin, who has been CBS's chief executive and chief financial officer since 2020, will report to Skydance Television's new president, George Cheeks.

With more announcements expected soon, it's likely Pratt, Rubin et al are planning to install a long-term head of free-to-air networks or a separate head of international streaming (those who could be in the frame, like Paramount+ EVP Marco Nobili and 5 president Reemah Sakaan), while it remains to be seen how the world will be divided up territory-wise.

A week is a long time in the entertainment world, and just a few days ago it seemed like things could be very different. At first it looked like the top international job would be a straight race between Paramount's Kevin McLellan and longtime WBD director Gerhard Ziller.

However, Zeiler has high political ambitions, which could even see him become chancellor of his native Austria, and Zeiler and McLellan have now confirmed their departures. McLellandhurst a few weeks after he explained at a London convention how Ellison had sold him the Skydance dream. Such is the policy of C Suite.

Meanwhile, deep concerns over Ellison's planned $6 billion merger are of course reverberating internationally, and sources we speak to quietly acknowledge that big changes could be coming. As MIPCOM heads into day two, more international transparency is needed after a week that will go down in entertainment industry history.

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