Paramount Global co-CEO Chris McCarthy will leave the company once its merger with Skydance is finished.

McCarthys decision comes on the heels of the Federal Communications Commission signing off on the deal late Thursday, removing the last major hurdle to the $8 billion transaction.

McCarthy became co-CEO of Paramount, alongside George Cheeks and Brian Robbins, in April 2024. The trio took on the role after the ouster of Bob Bakish as the company was in its first round of negotiations with Skydance. McCarthy is also president of Showtime/MTV Entertainment and oversees the companys streaming platforms Paramount+ and Pluto TV. Cheeks, who heads up CBS, will likely remain with the company post-merger, while Robbins, who leads Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon, is also expected to depart (though as of publication time, nothing beyond McCarthys exit is official).

The FCC, headed by Brendan Carr, approved the transfer of Paramounts broadcast licenses to Skydance on Thursday. That should allow the deal to close in relatively short order, giving the David Ellison-led Skydance control of Paramount. Ellison is set to be CEO of the combined company, with former NBCUniversal chief executive Jeff Shell coming in as president.

Sources stress to The Hollywood Reporter that McCarthy remains committed to Paramount through the close of the merger, expected to happen in the next couple of weeks. With Securities and Exchange Commission filings saying Ellison will become CEO after the merger, that would trigger an incurable provision in the current co-CEOs contracts. They could take another role within the merged entity if offered, but sources indicate McCarthy isnt inclined to do so.

Skydance (and partner RedBird Capital) won out over other bidders for Paramount in July 2024, with Shari Redstone agreeing to sell her majority stake in National Amusements the holding company that controls Paramount to Ellison and Co. The agreement followed several months of on-and-off negotiations, including a last-minute Redstone rejection of an earlier proposal from Skydance.

McCarthy has been with Paramount Global and its predecessor Viacom for more than two decades, having first come to the company in 2003. He was named general manager of MTV2 in 2008 and gradually added the rest of Viacom/Paramounts cable channels to his purview over the next decade. Showtime also came under his umbrella in 2022 and was subsequently folded into Paramount+.

Following the breakout success of Yellowstone on Paramount Network, McCarthy placed a big bet on showrunner Taylor Sheridan, signing him to a nine-figure overall deal. Sheridan has delivered several hits for Paramount+, most recently Landman and the second season of Yellowstone prequel 1923. McCarthy also helped bring Jon Stewart back to The Daily Show last year and has focused on an IP-driven strategy for Showtime and Paramount+, most notably with multiple iterations on Dexter alongside the Sheridan-verse.