JB Perrette is moving from Warner Bros. Discovery into a significantly expanded role at Skydance, giving David Zaslav’s longtime associate a central position across streaming, television, distribution and advertising as the companies prepare to complete their $110 billion deal.
Skydance confirmed its executive leadership team Monday, with much of the attention initially falling on the elevated positions secured by content executives Casey Bloys, Channing Dungey and George Cheeks. Perrette’s appointment, however, stands out both for the breadth of his responsibilities and for his decision to remain after the transaction rather than leave the company being acquired.
Once the deal closes, Perrette will become Co-Chair and Chief Business Officer of Skydance DTC, as well as Co-Chair and Chief Business Officer of Skydance TV. His direct global oversight will encompass distribution, advertising sales, content sales, direct-to-consumer strategy, marketing and business operations.
The transaction is due to close Tuesday morning. Perrette is then expected to appear alongside Co-CEOs David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz, among others, at a press conference on the Paramount lot later that afternoon.
A streaming veteran takes on a wider brief
Perrette arrives in Skydance’s executive suite after serving as WBD’s head of global streaming and gaming. During that tenure, he led HBO Max’s expansion into more than 130 international markets, including the UK, Germany and Italy following the end of a longtime output agreement with Sky.
WBD’s broader streaming operation, which includes HBO Max and several niche services, also became profitable under his watch. Perrette oversaw areas including product design and global distribution agreements, while Bloys led the HBO and HBO Max content operation.
His WBD record also includes the controversial decision to rename HBO Max as Max in 2023, a move he oversaw with Zaslav. Following confusion and backlash among viewers, suppliers and advertisers, the service returned to the HBO Max name in 2025.
Perrette’s streaming experience stretches back further. At Discovery, he led digital operations and helped launch both Eurosport’s streaming service and Discovery+. Before that, he spent 11 years at NBCUniversal, where his tenure overlapped with Zaslav’s and he rose to become president of digital and affiliate distribution.
He was also among the key executives involved in Hulu’s 2007 launch as a joint venture with Fox and later served on the streaming service’s board for several years.
Why Ellison backed Perrette
Perrette’s move followed a series of conversations with Ellison during recent weeks. Company insiders say he gradually earned the confidence of both Ellison and Kreiz.
One former colleague described Perrette as an executive who is frequently “asking the best questions in the room” and brings “the most comprehensive view.” Another person connected to Paramount said Perrette and the Skydance leadership developed a “mind-meld” around what streaming services could become in the age of artificial intelligence.
His reputation for engaging with detailed operational issues, including password sharing, could prove especially important as Skydance works to combine multiple streaming businesses and deliver at least $6 billion in promised cost savings.
Paramount board member and major Skydance investor Gerry Cardinale said last week that work to integrate the back-end operations and technology stacks of Paramount+, Pluto and BET+ had already produced results.
“We’ve already done a hell of a job,” Cardinale said. “Then we are going to do the same thing when we bring the HBO universe into this.”
A senior streaming executive at another company said that consolidation could potentially eliminate hundreds of millions of dollars in expenses. The executive called Perrette well suited to that work because of his willingness to dig into operational details.
The opportunity also comes with a major financial component. An SEC filing in March said Perrette would receive $142 million in deal-related proceeds, although some of that compensation could be deferred because he is joining the new company. One source pointed to the payout as a possible consideration but said Perrette “obviously felt compelled by the opportunity.”
Questions around advertising remain
Although Perrette has extensive experience with streaming operations and distribution deals, the full scope of his new portfolio has prompted some uncertainty. One insider said the inclusion of advertising and distribution in the formal announcement caused confusion because Perrette was not seen as having an extensive background across every part of that remit.
The advertising-sales hierarchy remains one of the unresolved issues as the former Paramount and WBD organizations come together. Both companies have recently experienced leadership changes in that area, and additional details about the next tier of senior executives are expected in the coming days.
What Happens Next?
The immediate focus shifts to Tuesday’s scheduled deal closing and the afternoon press conference featuring Perrette, Ellison, Kreiz and other leaders. Beyond that, Skydance is expected to reveal more of its executive structure while confronting a broader strategic question: how advertising, streaming technology and distribution will operate inside Ellison’s push to reshape the combined business as a technology company.