Television and streaming are primed for a major upgrade — getting a whole historic lot all to themselves. The settlement in the state AGs’ lawsuit requires Skydance, the combined company of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, to keep both the Paramount and Warner Bros. lots for at least the next five years.

During a press event on the Paramount lot Tuesday, hours after the merger had closed, Skydance CEO David Ellison revealed that the two lots, each historically and currently housing film and TV, would be organized differently.

“We absolutely will keep both lots, and you’ll probably see us organize film on one, television/streaming on another, and we’ll go back and forth between the two, as well as to the East Coast when required, as well as our Santa Monica offices for animation,” he said of himself and Skydance co-CEO Ynon Kreiz.

Ellison would not elaborate further but based on the sizes alone — Warner Bros. in Burbank being significantly larger than the Hollywood-based Paramount — film would likely be based on the Paramount lot and television and streaming on the Warner Bros. lot, I hear.

Such delineation would also jibe with Paramount — and its iconic arches — being steeped in movie history and a symbol of the golden era of cinema as the only major studio still located in Hollywood.

The division would mean status quo for Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein, co-chairs the the motion picture group, who are based at Paramount, and Channing Dungey, head of Warner Bros. Television Group and Skyance’s basic cable networks, who is at Warner Bros.

It would require a cross-town move for George Cheeks, Co-Chair and Chief Content Officer, Skydance TV; JB Perrette, Co-Chair & Chief Business Officer, Skydance TV and DTC; Casey Bloys, Co-Chair and Chief Content Officer, DTC; as well as CBS Studios President David Stapf and Paramount TV Studios President Matt Thunell and their teams.

Putting all TV operations together would bring CBS Entertainment, CBS Studios and CBS Media Ventures back to a studio lot after the divisions left CBS Studios Center (Radford) after it was sold in 2022 to relocate to the Sunset Gower offices in Hollywood that also house other Paramount units.

Then there are the combined streaming operations that will greatly benefit from moving into one place as they are currently scattered into several locations between HBO Max and Paramount+, including HBO’s offices in Culver City, the Paramount lot, and the Nickelodeon West Coast headquarters in Burbank.

Skydance’s Direct-to-Consumer division, headed by Bloys and Perrette, could move to the Warner Bros. Second Century Development adjacent to the Warner Bros. lot where HBO had intended to relocate before the WBD sales process put the process on hold.

Saoirse Ronan is addressing a rumor that her husband, Jack Lowden, has been cast as the next James Bond.

In a new interview, Ronan was asked about Lowden portraying the 007 agent in the film franchise.

“Well, Gary Oldman thinks he’s James Bond,” Ronan said in an interview with the Associated Press.

She continued, “[That’s] its own thing. We’re kind of getting on with our life, to be honest. We have plenty of other things to be dealing with. So, yeah, it’s not really a subject that’s coming up in our house, to be honest. The dog needs to be walked, the dinner needs to be made—we’re most focused on that.”

Lowden’s name came up during an interview in September, when Oldman said he wanted his Slow Horses co-star to take on the iconic action role.

“It’s been rumored that he’s on the shortlist,” Oldman told Global News. “We’re going to find out pretty soon, aren’t we? Because they have picked him. They have made their choice, but they have not announced it yet. So my fingers are crossed for Jack.”

Ronan herself has pitched herself to play a villain in the James Bond universe.

“I want to go dark,” she told Empire. “I said that I wanted to be a Bond villain and I’m dead serious.”

She continued, “I think it would be really interesting, having a young female villain. Especially for girls and women, to see someone who can just take all that pent-up anger and direct it somewhere, there’s something interesting in that dramatically. So I would love to do more of that.”

In March of this year, Deadline reported that Nina Gold had closed a deal to become the casting director for the next James Bond film. Gold’s credits include HBO’s Game of Thrones, the Netflix series The Crown, and five films in the Star Wars franchise.

George Cheeks, who has a shiny new role in the Skydance corporation, called the first day of the combined Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery the “start of a new chapter”.

In a memo to staff, Cheeks, who is now Co-Chair and Chief Content Officer, Skydance TV, teased the strategy of the new division that now includes CBS, Warner Bros. Television Studios, CBS Studios and Paramount Television Studios, CBS News, CBS Sports, TNT Sports and Warner Bros. Discovery Sports.

“By bringing together Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, we’ve assembled a remarkable collection of television brands, networks and studios, backed by some of the most talented teams in the industry,” he wrote.

Cheeks did not particularly go into detail on the new structure and his direct reports in the note, but Deadline revealed a few days ago that Channing Dungey, who was Chairman and CEO, Warner Bros Television Group and US Networks, will now also oversee the Paramount cable networks such as MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and BET as well as VH1, Paramount Network, TV Land, CMT, Pop TV and Logo TV.

The former NBCUniversal exec, who is also in charge of CBS Studios, run by David Stapf, and Skydance TV, run by Matt Thunell, called the Skydance Television group an “unmatched mix of networks, studios, platforms and programming genres.”

He said that the TV studios, which will remain separate, for now, at least, will continue to “create franchises, premium originals and unscripted hits that entertain viewers of all ages and interests”.

He also lauded CBS, which he said “remains a cornerstone”. He praised the sports operations, which will now be run by CBS Sports boss David Berson, with TNT Sports chief Luis Silberwasser exiting.

Cheeks also called CBS News, run by editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, “one of the most important brands in journalism, delivering national and worldwide news across broadcast, streaming and digital”.

The cable side now features more than 50 channels. “There are too many standout shows to name individually, but one thing is clear: the breadth and quality of programming across this group is unrivaled, spanning some of the most watched, most acclaimed and most award-winning in the industry,” he added.

Cheeks admitted that staff is eager to hear more about the leadership, structure and strategy and said that more details will be shared soon.

“This is a moment of transition. With that comes uncertainty. The stress of this is not lost on me. Expect to hear more on our structure and priorities in the weeks ahead,” he wrote. “The work ahead is significant, and so is the opportunity. I am energized by the possibilities. Together, we’ll build on our collective strengths to create an even stronger future.”