Jay Askinasi, Paramount's chief revenue officer, will lead ad sales at Skydance following the $110 billion merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery.

JB Perrette, co-chair and chief business officer of Skydance TV and Skydance DTC, announced the appointment alongside two additional executive moves. David Decker becomes president of content sales. Ray Hopkins becomes president of distribution.

"Jay, David, and Ray are hugely talented and respected leaders with deep experience, strong industry relationships, and a shared commitment to our partners and our people," Perrette said in a statement.

Who is leaving the merged business?

Two senior Warner Bros. Discovery ad sales leaders are exiting as the new structure takes shape. Ryan Gould and Bobby Voltaggio both depart the company.

What does Askinasi bring to the top ad role?

Askinasi held the chief revenue officer post at Paramount before the merger closed, giving him oversight of advertising revenue across the legacy ViacomCBS portfolio. His elevation places a Paramount veteran atop ad sales for the combined company, which now controls film and television production, cable networks, and the streaming services operated by both legacy organizations.

The appointment lands among the first major commercial decisions from the merged entity. Skydance will need a unified sales pitch for marketers that previously allocated dollars separately to the two media companies.

What will Decker and Hopkins handle?

Decker takes responsibility for content sales across the combined portfolio. His remit covers the licensing and ad-supported sales of the libraries and originals that the merged company controls. Hopkins will lead distribution, the team that negotiates carriage deals with pay-TV operators and streaming aggregators.

Why does this matter for advertisers and agencies?

The combination creates a single counterparty for marketers that previously split budgets between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery. Holding-group agency buyers will negotiate upfront commitments with one sales force rather than two. The pricing implications depend on how aggressively the new team positions its combined inventory.

Gould and Voltaggio each carried direct client relationships from the legacy WarnerMedia and Discovery ad sales organizations. Their exits leave the ad sales leadership bench effectively Paramount-rooted at the top. Agencies that worked primarily with the WBD side of the business will need new points of contact.

The leadership structure points to a Paramount-led commercial strategy at the merged entity, at least at the ad sales level. Agency partners will soon see whether a consolidated Paramount-WBD sales force can match the pricing leverage that Disney, NBCUniversal, and Fox have commanded in recent upfront cycles. The test will shape how holding companies route annual commitments through the new media giant for years to come.