Short answers, pulled from the story.
Paramount Global ceased operating as an independent company on the 7th of August 2025, when its merger with Skydance Media closed. The merger had been approved on the 24th of July 2025, more than a year after a merger agreement was first reached.
ViacomCBS rebranded as Paramount Global on the 16th of February 2022, following an investor presentation on February 15. The company adopted the name to leverage the Paramount brand, which it described as an iconic global name, and the parent company simultaneously took over the paramount.com domain.
Skydance Media, led by founder David Ellison, merged with Paramount Global in a deal valued at $28 billion. Ellison was appointed chairman and CEO of the merged entity, with former NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell named president. Shari Redstone received $2.4 billion for her National Amusements stake.
Viacom began as CBS's in-house syndication unit, created in 1952 and renamed Viacom in 1970. In 1971, the FCC required CBS to spin the division off as an independent company, severing the connection. The two companies reunited in 2000 when Viacom acquired CBS Corporation, then split again on the 31st of December 2005, before merging once more in 2019.
Paramount cancelled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in July 2025, days after Colbert publicly called the company's $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump "a big fat bribe." The settlement resolved a lawsuit over CBS News's editing of a 60 Minutes interview. The Writers Guild of America called on the New York attorney general to investigate whether the cancellation was tied to seeking regulatory approval for the Skydance merger.
Paramount sold several major assets in the years before the merger. It sold the CNET Media Group to Red Ventures for $500 million in 2020, the CBS Building to Harbor Group International for $760 million in 2021, CBS Studio Center for $1.85 billion in 2021, and Simon & Schuster to KKR for $1.6 billion in 2022. It also divested a 75% stake in The CW network to Nexstar Media Group in 2022.