David Ellison, the son of billionaire Oracle co-founder and billionaire tech titan Larry Ellison, announced that the combined Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery entity will be named Skydance, reverting to the moniker of his original production company founded in 2006. This announcement came just after a federal judge cleared the final antitrust hurdle for the $110 billion merger.

The 43-year-old entrepreneur said that the new name provides the conglomerate with a distinct corporate identity while preserving the legacy and operational independence of the Paramount and Warner Bros. studio brands.

Ellison said the merger as a "creative-first home for bold, quality storytelling," emphasizing that the combination equips iconic studios with a "more powerful engine" rather than rewriting their history. The conglomerate will encompass major assets including HBO, CNN, TBS, Food Network, DC Comics, Harry Potter, and Lord of the Rings franchises.

The acquisition faced significant legal opposition from a coalition of 12 state attorneys general in the U.S., led by California, who filed an antitrust lawsuit in July 2026 to block the deal. The lawsuit was resolved via a five-year settlement agreement approved by U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín on September 30, 2026.

Key terms of the settlement require the merged company to: release at least 30 films in U.S. theaters annually for the first two years, increasing to 32 thereafter; commit an additional $1.5 billion to domestic film production over five years; establish a five-member editorial independence board to oversee CBS News and CNN within 180 days of closing; and refrain from selling or closing the Melrose Avenue (Paramount) or Burbank (Warner Bros.) studio lots.

Upon the deal’s expected close on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, the new entity will trade under the ticker symbol SKYD on the New York Stock Exchange. Ellison will retain his role as Chairman and CEO, focusing on long-term strategy and creative vision, while Ynon Kreiz, the outgoing CEO of Mattel, will serve as Co-CEO overseeing operations and integration.

David Ellison, the son of billionaire Oracle co-founder and billionaire tech titan Larry Ellison, announced that the combined Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery entity will be named Skydance, reverting to the moniker of his original production company founded in 2006. This announcement came just after a federal judge cleared the final antitrust hurdle for the $110 billion merger.

The 43-year-old entrepreneur said that the new name provides the conglomerate with a distinct corporate identity while preserving the legacy and operational independence of the Paramount and Warner Bros. studio brands.

Ellison said the merger as a "creative-first home for bold, quality storytelling," emphasizing that the combination equips iconic studios with a "more powerful engine" rather than rewriting their history. The conglomerate will encompass major assets including HBO, CNN, TBS, Food Network, DC Comics, Harry Potter, and Lord of the Rings franchises.

The acquisition faced significant legal opposition from a coalition of 12 state attorneys general in the U.S., led by California, who filed an antitrust lawsuit in July 2026 to block the deal. The lawsuit was resolved via a five-year settlement agreement approved by U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín on September 30, 2026.

Key terms of the settlement require the merged company to: release at least 30 films in U.S. theaters annually for the first two years, increasing to 32 thereafter; commit an additional $1.5 billion to domestic film production over five years; establish a five-member editorial independence board to oversee CBS News and CNN within 180 days of closing; and refrain from selling or closing the Melrose Avenue (Paramount) or Burbank (Warner Bros.) studio lots.

Upon the deal’s expected close on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, the new entity will trade under the ticker symbol SKYD on the New York Stock Exchange. Ellison will retain his role as Chairman and CEO, focusing on long-term strategy and creative vision, while Ynon Kreiz, the outgoing CEO of Mattel, will serve as Co-CEO overseeing operations and integration.

SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket launched the NROL-97 mission from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A), at 0354 UTC on Friday (Oct. 2), carrying classified payload and marking the first time the heavy-lift vehicle has been used for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). This launch completed a historic "tripleheader" within 13 hours for SpaceX, following the earlier Crew-13 and Transporter-18 flights.

Falcon Heavy's two side boosters B1072 and B1104 came back to Earth for landing at Landing Zones 2 and 1 at Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station about eight minutes after liftoff; while the rocket’s new center core, B1106 was intentionally expended to maximize energy for the classified payload.

The Falcon Heavy upper stage deployed the payload to a high-energy orbit likely intended for geostationary or highly elliptical paths, which require the Falcon Heavy’s superior lift capacity (63,800 kilograms to LEO) compared to the standard Falcon 9.

NROL-97 is the opening operational mission of the $13.7 billion NSSL Phase 3 Lane 2 contract, awarded in 2025, which formalizes SpaceX as a primary provider for U.S. national security launches through fiscal year 2029.

While specific details of the spy satellite remain classified, the use of the Falcon Heavy indicates a heavy or high-altitude payload that exceeded the capabilities of the NRO’s previous 22 Falcon 9 missions.

The NROL-97 mission patch features the phrase "Orbem mundi mutandum conservare," which is Latin for "to preserve a changing world" or "to preserve the world by transforming it." The emblem also memorializes the lives lost during the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

"The lighthouse characterizes enduring strength and the ability to provide information to those in need, even in difficult times," NRO officials wrote in a description of the patch. "The endpoints of the light beam align to the locations of 9 and 11 on a clock face in honor of the 25th anniversary of 9/11. Four prominent stars represent the four aircraft lost on 9/11, and the moon phase is shown as it appeared on September 11, 2026."

SpaceX has launched a "tripleheader" in such a short timeframe — in March 2025, when the company sent up three Falcon 9 rockets in a 12.5-hour span.