Skydance Chair & CEO David Ellison said the new media conglomerate anticipates “being in business with the NFL for the foreseeable future.” AFP via Getty Images
Skydance Chair & CEO David Ellison said the [new media conglomerate](/Articles/2026/10/06/paramount-wbd-merger-officially-closes-creating-massive-media-conglomerate-skydance/) anticipates “being in business with the NFL for the foreseeable future.” Ellison, appearing on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” added he believes, based on conversations with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, the league “sees it the same way.” Ellison noted Paramount has a “great relationship with the NFL” and highlighted a “record-setting season” with the league in 2025. Ellison also touted the conglomerate’s future in sports broadcasting. He said with the merger, Skydance now has an “unmatched sports portfolio that includes” the NFL, MLB, NHL, UEFA and PGA Tour, “not to mention the Olympics internationally.” He cited the company’s sports portfolio as being a key part to being “positioned to compete with anybody and to win.” Ellison and other dealmakers around Skydance were on hand at the N.Y. Stock Exchange on Thursday to ring the opening bell (_“Squawk Box,” CNBC, 10/8_).
**WHAT’S NEXT**: SBJ’s Austin Karp notes with the Skydance-Paramount merger now closed, the focus turns to what properties are going to stay or go. Karp, on the Sports Media Podcast, said there are “a lot of these deals that are going to be coming up in the next couple of years,” noting MLB and renegotiations with the NFL, along with the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Karp noted Skydance has “a lot of debt,” and it will face the question of what “can they afford?” (_“The Sports Media Podcast,” SBJ 10/8_).