Skydance has appointed three senior executives to oversee advertising sales, content licensing and distribution for the newly combined Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery businesses, while confirming the departures of several executives who previously held similar positions at Warner Bros Discovery (WBD).
In a statement this week, Skydance said Jay Askinasi will serve as the company’s Chief Revenue Officer of Advertising, David Decker will become President of Content Sales and Ray Hopkins will assume the position of President of Distribution.
All three executives will report to JB Perrette, the former WBD executive who serves as Co-Chair and Chief Business Officer of Skydance’s television and direct-to-consumer streaming divisions. Askinasi and Hopkins will also serve on the Skydance Executive Leadership Team.
The appointments follow the October 6 completion of Paramount’s acquisition of WBD, which brought the two entertainment companies together under the Skydance corporate name.
The leadership changes will result in the departures of Ryan Gould and Robert “Bobby” Voltaggio, who served as Presidents of U.S. Advertising Sales at WBD. Scott Miller, WBD’s President of Networks and Streaming Distribution, will also leave the company following Hopkins’ appointment.
Askinasi joined Paramount as its Chief Revenue Officer after serving as the Head of Global Media Revenue and Growth at Roku, where he oversaw advertising and commercial growth initiatives. Before joining Roku, he served as CEO of Publicis Media Exchange, overseeing media investment and advertising operations for the agency business. In his new position, Askinasi will oversee advertising sales across Skydance’s combined portfolio of television networks and streaming services.
Decker, a veteran of Warner Bros with more than two decades of experience at the studio, will continue overseeing content sales for the expanded company. He most recently served as the President of Content Sales at WBD, managing the international licensing and distribution of film, television, animation and digital programming.
Hopkins will oversee distribution relationships across Skydance’s television and streaming businesses, including agreements with traditional pay television providers, digital platforms and CBS affiliate stations. He joined CBS Corporation in 2013 and previously served as the Chief Operating Officer of regional sports channel YES Network, which has local rights to New York Yankees baseball games. His career in television distribution spans more than three decades.
“By combining our strengths and uniting our teams, we will build on the incredible legacies of both companies to serve audiences and partners in new and more innovative ways and shape an even more ambitious future,” Perrette said in a statement.
Perrette described the three executives as experienced industry leaders with established relationships across advertising, content licensing and distribution.
The appointments are part of a broader restructuring under David Ellison, who is leading the combined entertainment company alongside Co-Chief Executive Officer Ynon Kreiz.
