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Warner Bros. TV Group Boss Dungey Joins Skydance Leadership
Developing
In Short: Channing Dungey, former Warner Bros. TV Group boss, joins Skydance's executive leadership team.
Channing Dungey, former chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. TV Group, has joined Skydance’s executive leadership team, reporting directly to George Cheeks and JB Perrette, co-chairs of Skydance TV.
In a memo to staff, Dungey expressed her excitement about the new corporate structure and her continued admiration for the team's dedication and hard work.
Dungey acknowledged the mixed emotions staff may be feeling during the transition, noting the pride in past accomplishments and the uncertainty about the future.
She highlighted the studio's recent successes, including 13 new series orders and 13 series renewals, and praised her new colleagues, Matt Thunell and David Stapf, with whom she will be working closely.
Dungey assured staff that she would keep them informed as the new structure takes shape, emphasizing her commitment to transparency during the transition.
Dungey's move follows the recent merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery into Skydance, which closed earlier this year.
The new leadership structure aims to streamline operations and leverage the combined strengths of the three studios under Skydance.
What this adds
Dungey's transition to Skydance marks a significant shift in the leadership of the former Warner Bros. Discovery TV Group.
Background
In a message to staff, Skydance CEO David Ellison and Co-CEO Ynon Kreiz praised the company's employees for their patience and hard work during the year-long process of merging Paramount and Warner Bros. into Skydance.
Veteran studio executive Josh Goldstine will now oversee marketing and distribution for Paramount, Warner Bros., and any other film labels under the Skydance banner, following the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger that closed Tuesday.
Warner Bros. is a brand name that has been used by several multinational mass media and entertainment companies and corporations, mostly based in the United States, originating from the original Warner Bros. Pictures, a major American film studio founded in 1923.
What's still developing
- The exec, who reported directly to CEO David Zaslav in the Warner Bros. Discovery era, will now report to newly named Skydance TV co-chair and chief content officer George Cheeks and JB Perrette, in his role as co-chair and chief business officer for Skydance TV.
- “Please remember I have the highest admiration for the dedication, professionalism and hard work each of you gives this company, and I know our new leadership shares my appreciation for the brilliance of this team,” she wrote.
- But Dungey also acknowledged the “stressful time” that comes with adjusting to a merger: “I imagine many of you are arriving at this milestone with mixed emotions: pride in what your teams have accomplished, genuine excitement about the possibilities ahead, and understandably, some uncertainty about what comes next,” she wrote.
- She also confirmed that she’ll be getting a new boss duo.
- Popular on Variety Dungey has already worked for years with Perette inside WBD, and knows Cheeks well, particularly because Warner Bros.
- “I don’t have all the answers today — some things will come into focus quickly, while others will take more time to figure out — but I am committed to keeping you as informed as I can as we move forward.” Dungey first took over as chairman/CEO of Warner Bros.
Sources
- Varietylink
- WarpBeat — background on Skydance Execs Praise Staff, Outline Priorities After Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger link
- WarpBeat — background on Josh Goldstine to Oversee Marketing and Distribution for Paramount, Warner Bros. and Skydance Films link
- Wikipedia — background on Warner Bros. link
- ABC News (Australia) — video link