Warner Bros. water tower repainted after merger with Paramount closes

LOS ANGELES (NBC, KYMA) - The Warner Bros. water tower has been repainted after the merger with Paramount officially closed Tuesday.

The words, "A Skydance Corporation," have been added to the iconic water tower on the Warner Bros. lot.

This comes on the heels after a blockbuster deal to merger Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) closed, with both studios falling under the Skydance label.

The deal brought together the studios behind "Mission: Impossible," "Harry Potter" and DC Studios alongside major television and streaming networks such as CBS, CNN, Paramount+ and HBO Max, forming an expansive entertainment company spanning film, TV and news.

CEO David Ellison is now heading up one of the world's largest entertainment companies, with Ynon Kriez serving as co-CEO.

Shares of Skydance were available on the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday with the stock symbol, "SKYD."

A myriad of concerns ranging from declining cable-TV subscriptions, high cost of competing for streaming audiences and persistent pressure from unions over jobs and creative workers' rights had stalled the acquisition.

However, those issues have apparently been addressed.

Also, settlements with a coalition of U.S. states and a Hollywood writers union removed additional legal barriers to the deal.

The day before the deal's completion, Ellison and Kreiz announced their leadership team, with Mark Thompson remaining as Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of CNN and Bari Weiss remaining as Editor-In-Chief of CBS News.

The merger's closure comes nearly a year after WBD put themselves up for sale.