US media company Skydance plans to achieve at least $6 billion in cost savings within three years following its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, while preparing to launch a bundled HBO Max and Paramount+ streaming service in early 2027.
The company outlined the plans in a shareholder letter released late Monday, detailing how it intends to reduce expenses across its combined operations, Anadolu Agency reported.
Skydance completed the acquisition on October 6, financing the deal with $47 billion in new equity and $57 billion in secured debt. The transaction left the combined company with gross debt of $87 billion.
The planned savings include at least $2.2 billion from reducing corporate overhead and real estate costs through consolidated back-office operations and expanded use of artificial intelligence. Another $1.4 billion is expected from integrating technology and streaming platforms, while centralized procurement and vendor management are projected to generate a further $1.4 billion.
The company also aims to save at least $1 billion through more streamlined marketing spending. One-time cash costs associated with achieving the savings are estimated at approximately $4 billion.
Paramount+, HBO and HBO Max have a combined global subscriber base of 203 million. Skydance plans to align their backend streaming systems within a year of the merger’s completion.
The company aims to reduce its net leverage ratio to 3.0 times by the end of 2029.
