David Zaslav Bids Farewell to Warner Bros. Employees in Video on Eve of Skydance Merger Close: ‘It’s Been a Great Honor to Be Alongside All of You’

Oct 5, 2026 12:32pm PT David Zaslav Bids Farewell to Warner Bros. Employees in Video on Eve of Skydance Merger Close: ‘It’s Been a Great Honor to Be Alongside All of You’

By Todd Spangler

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Todd Spangler

NY Digital Editor

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 03: David Zaslav attends the Warner Bros Pictures "Sinners" New York Premiere at AMC Lincoln Square Theater on April 03, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)

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David Zaslav, four and a half years after closing the debt-burdened deal that formed Warner Bros. Discovery, is bidding farewell to the company’s employees as it is about to get swallowed up by David Ellison’s Paramount — to create a media giant saddled with even more debt.

Zaslav, president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, shared a video with employees Monday expressing gratitude for their hard work and creativity over the years. (The video, viewed by Variety, is available only on WBD’s internal portal.) Zaslav will exit with the megamerger of Paramount and WBD, scheduled to close Oct. 6, with the new Ellison-run company adopting the name Skydance Corp.