Ramsey Naito Remains at Paramount Animation Helm as Skydance Completes Acquisition

Paramount Global and Skydance Media today announced the close of their $8.4 billion merger, with the newly combined company to be known as “Paramount, A Skydance Corporation” and trading under stock ticker PSKY on Nasdaq starting Thursday.

“Today marks an exciting and pivotal moment as we prepare to bring Paramount’s legacy as a Hollywood institution into the future of entertainment. My vision is to honor exceptional storytelling while modernizing how we make and deliver content to support the world’s top creative talent, enhance experiences for audiences worldwide, and create sustainable value for our shareholders,” stated Chairman & CEO David Ellison in a press release.

Last night, Deadline reported that Ramsey Naito will remain President of Paramount Animation. Post merger, Naito will continue to oversee Nickelodeon feature animation titles, handing off the television animation business. She was appointed President of Paramount Animation and President of Nickelodeon Animation in 2021, having been elevated to the latter title in 2020. She joined Nickelodeon Animation in 2018 as EVP of Animation Production & Development, and has been a driving force in expanding the studio’s slate through project greenlights, talent and creator partnerships.

Departing Paramount Global Co-CEO Brian Robbins oversaw both Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon, and under the new structure the labels will be split between Dana Goldberg & Josh Goldstein as Co-Chairs of Paramount Pictures, and George Cheeks as Chair of TV Media, with Nickelodeon and the new Nickelodeon TV Studios label as part of his purview. Deadline supposes the latter to be or include Nickelodeon Animation Studios. However, it is unclear who will be directly running Nick TV/Animation, which holds major hit franchises such as SpongeBob SquarePants, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Rugrats and more.

Recent Paramount Animation titles including the big screen hits Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, which earned ~$182 million worldwide in 2023 and generated over a billion dollars in retail sales that year; PAW Patrol: The Movie ($144.3M worldwide) and its sequel PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie ($205.1M); Transformers One ($129.7M); and this summer’s Smurfs ($90M and counting). The upcoming slate will deliver The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants (December 19), PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie (July 24, 2026), The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender (Oct. 9, 2026), The Angry Birds Movie 3 (Jan. 29, 2027) and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem 2 (Sept. 17, 2027).

[Source: Deadline]

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