Channing Dungey Is Set To Take the Reins Of MTV, BET, Nickelodeon, And More In Skydance Shake-Up

The veteran Black TV executive is poised to oversee an expanded cable portfolio as Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery combine under Skydance.

Channing Dungey is about to have an even bigger seat at the table.

The veteran television executive is poised to oversee Paramount’s cable networks, including MTV, BET, Nickelodeon, and Comedy Central, as Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery prepare to combine under the Skydance banner. The deal is scheduled to close Oct. 6.

Dungey, chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Television Group and U.S. Networks, would add Paramount’s cable portfolio to the collection of brands she already oversees at Warner Bros. Discovery. According to Deadline, the Paramount group includes the “core four” of MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, and BET, along with VH1, Paramount Network, TV Land, CMT, Pop TV, and Logo TV. Her existing Warner Bros. Discovery portfolio includes TBS, TNT, truTV, Turner Classic Movies, HGTV, Food Network, Discovery Channel, TLC, OWN, Cartoon Network, and Adult Swim.

The expanded role puts Dungey at the center of a major corporate restructuring in Hollywood, with George Cheeks, Paramount’s chair of TV media, positioned above her. Cheeks is expected to oversee the merged company’s television studios and linear networks, including CBS, while Dungey handles the day-to-day operation of the cable brands.

The move also represents another significant chapter in Dungey’s extraordinary career. She became the first Black executive to lead a major U.S. broadcast network’s entertainment division when she was named president of ABC Entertainment in 2016. She later joined Netflix before taking over Warner Bros. Television in 2021.

Her current studio operation has considerable reach. Variety reports that Warner Bros. Television produces more than 80 original series across more than 20 platforms, with credits including Abbott Elementary, Ted Lasso, Shrinking, The Voice and The Pitt. The division has secured 13 new series orders and 13 renewals this year, while The Pitt earned six Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama Series.

The broader merger is creating one of Hollywood’s largest entertainment companies, bringing together brands spanning Warner Bros., Paramount, HBO, CBS, CNN, MTV, BET, Nickelodeon, and more. The new company will be called Skydance, the name of David Ellison’s original production company.