Skydance Media facts for kids
 |
|
|
Formerly
|
Skydance Productions (2006–2016) |
|---|---|
| Private | |
| Industry | Entertainment |
| Founded | April 4, 2006 |
| Founder | David Ellison |
| Headquarters | Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
|
Area served
|
Global |
|
Key people
|
|
| Products |
|
| Brands | Uncharted (label) |
| Owners |
|
| Divisions |
|
Skydance Media, LLC is an American company that makes movies, TV shows, and games. It used to be called Skydance Productions. The company is located in Santa Monica, California.
David Ellison started Skydance in 2006. They create many types of entertainment, including animated films, live-action movies, TV series, and video games. They also have a sports division. Since 2009, Skydance has worked closely with Paramount Pictures. They often help make and pay for Paramount's films. Skydance is currently working on a deal to join with Paramount Global, which owns Paramount Pictures. This big change is expected to happen in 2025.
Contents
How Skydance Started and Grew
Starting the Company
Skydance Productions was created in 2006 by David Ellison. His father is Larry Ellison, who helped start the big computer company Oracle Corporation. Skydance's very first movie was Flyboys in 2006. David Ellison also acted in this movie.
In 2009, Skydance and Paramount Pictures made a deal. They agreed to work together for five years to make and pay for movies. Paramount would also help distribute these films. In 2010, Skydance got a lot of money, $350 million, to help pay for its movies. This money came from David's father, Larry Ellison, and other sources.
Growing Bigger
Skydance started to expand into other areas. On May 1, 2013, they launched Skydance Television to make TV shows. Later, in 2014, Jesse Sisgold joined the company. He helped with business and planning, and eventually became the company's President and Chief Operating Officer. Don Granger also joined in 2014 to help with movie production.
In 2015, Skydance got even more money, $700 million, to help fund its projects. They also renewed their deal with Paramount Pictures for another four years.
In 2016, Skydance launched Skydance Interactive. This new part of the company focuses on video games. They announced a new virtual reality (VR) game called Archangel in 2017. Skydance also created a special label called Uncharted in 2016. This label is for movies and shows that are not action, sci-fi, or fantasy.
On March 16, 2017, Skydance started Skydance Animation. They partnered with Ilion Animation Studios in Spain to make animated films. In August 2017, Skydance and Paramount renewed their movie deal again until 2021. This new deal also included distributing Skydance's animated movies.
In 2018, a company called Tencent bought a small part of Skydance. In 2020, other companies like RedBird Capital Partners and CJ ENM also invested in Skydance.
New Sports Division and Paramount Merger Talks
On October 20, 2021, Skydance started a new sports division called Skydance Sports. This team makes movies and shows about sports. In 2022, Skydance also made a deal to create movies for Apple TV+. Even with this new deal, Skydance continued to work with Paramount on popular movie series like Mission: Impossible, Star Trek, Top Gun, and Transformers.
In October 2022, Skydance received another $400 million investment. This money came from new investors like KKR and the Ellison family. In 2023, Skydance also supported a new music and entertainment company started by country singer Tim McGraw.
In January 2024, news came out that David Ellison wanted to buy the company that owns Paramount Global. This would mean Skydance and Paramount would become one big company. There were many talks and discussions about this merger. In June 2024, it was reported that Skydance and Paramount had agreed on the terms of a merger. However, the deal seemed to fall apart shortly after. Negotiations started again in July, and Skydance reached a new agreement to buy the parent company of Paramount and merge with Paramount.
See also
In Spanish: Skydance Media para niños
