Skydance Reorganizes TV and Streaming Distribution Leadership After Merger, Eight Executives to Exit

Skydance has reorganized its television and streaming distribution leadership, and eight executives who came from Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery are leaving the company. The unit is responsible for content deals with pay-TV operators, streaming and device platforms and other partners.

The changes were announced in an internal memo sent Nov. 3 by Ray Hopkins, president of distribution. Skydance was formed through the megamerger of David Ellison's Paramount Skydance and WBD, a deal that closed Oct. 6.

Hopkins named two top lieutenants to head the distribution team: Sarah Bergman, an HBO veteran who most recently served as WBD's EVP of networks and streaming distribution, and Mickey Carter, formerly EVP of distribution for Paramount. Bergman and Carter will share the title of EVP of distribution and will split responsibility for negotiating distribution agreements and managing partnerships.

The Skydance distribution team handles deals for CBS owned-and-operated stations, 55 basic cable networks, Paramount+, HBO Max, Discovery+, Pluto TV and more than 100 FAST channels.

The executives exiting are Rivka Golomb, WBD's head of distribution strategy and finance; Kelly Kane, WBD SVP of partner marketing; Jeff Cross, WBD EVP of legal, distribution and commercial partnerships; Rich Palermo, WBD EVP of network and streaming distribution; David Comisar, SVP of affiliate distribution at CBS; Kurt Davis, EVP of CBS affiliate relations; Deena Demasi, Paramount's EVP of marketing, distribution and business development; and Ken Kay, EVP of distribution and affiliate marketing at Showtime.

Hopkins also outlined several other leadership roles in the memo. Brad Shipley, EVP of business development and strategy, will oversee strategy, new growth partnerships, Pluto TV and FAST distribution, advanced advertising partnerships, and business planning and analytics, while also serving as distribution lead for the Skydance Global Sports Group. Patrick Cavanaugh, EVP and CFO of distribution finance, will lead economics for all linear and streaming negotiations.

Rick Baker, EVP and deputy general counsel for distribution, business and legal affairs, will oversee business and legal affairs for Skydance's distribution across linear and streaming. With Baker's new role, Cross will leave the company but remain a senior adviser to the distribution business. Joe Bahr, SVP of partner operations, will manage operational issues across partners, and Andrew Borak, SVP of marketing, will lead the combined distribution marketing function.

Bob Aguanno, SVP of CBS affiliate relations, will manage Skydance's relationships with roughly 200 CBS affiliate TV stations, working with the CBS Network affiliate board. John Bagwell, SVP and associate general counsel, will negotiate contracts with the station groups and the affiliate board.

Hopkins reports to JB Perrette, the former Warner Bros. Discovery executive who now serves as co-chair and chief business officer of Skydance TV and Skydance Direct-to-Consumer. Scott Miller, who previously served as WBD's president of networks and streaming distribution, exited the company when Hopkins was appointed.

The restructuring comes as Skydance executives target $6 billion in annualized cost savings through the combination of Paramount and WBD. Mass layoffs at the company are expected before the end of the year, and certain eligible employees are being offered voluntary buyouts, according to an Oct. 26 companywide memo from Ellison and co-CEO Ynon Kreiz. The changes to Skydance's distribution team were first reported by Reuters.