Overview
- In a March 10 town hall at Warner Bros.’ Steven J. Ross Theatre, David Zaslav introduced David Ellison, who took a dozen questions in a session moderated by communications chief Robert Gibbs with roughly 150–200 leaders in person and 300-plus remote.
- Ellison acknowledged a “turbulent” bidding process and reiterated targets of releasing at least 30 theatrical films per year, moving to a single streaming platform, and retaining both studio lots.
- He said CNN would remain editorially independent and pointed to CBS News’ editorial independence as well, echoing prior assurances about news operations under the combined company.
- Asked about job cuts, Ellison declined to provide numbers, reaffirmed roughly $6 billion in merger cost savings, and said most synergies would not come from layoffs while citing gun-jumping constraints on detailed planning.
- Ellison praised HBO as the television “gold standard” and met with HBO chief Casey Bloys after the event, and Paramount continues to project closing in the third quarter of 2026 with a 25-cent-per-share ticking fee each quarter if completion slips past Sept. 30.