Cindy Holland is leaving Paramount Skydance on the same day the company is moving toward the Paramount+ and Max streaming bundle. Her exit comes as David Ellison pushes ahead with a combined streaming plan after the Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition, leaving the platform strategy in the middle of a leadership reset.
Holland’s last day
Holland said in an email to staff that “As David readies for the next phase of his vision, we’ve discussed my role and the future of the combined businesses. David is optimizing for HBO stability as we move into this next chapter, and I fully support that” and that “I know this team has the leadership and expertise to manage through the transition and the next phase of the company, and to this end today will mark my last day here.” She had taken the reins of the direct-to-consumer operation in August 2025 after first serving as an advisor to Skydance CEO David Ellison.
Ellison responded that “Cindy is one of the most exceptional executives in our industry — a force of nature whose impact on Paramount over the past year has been significant” and added that “Under her leadership, P+ reached new heights, Pluto TV underwent its most significant transformation in a decade, and we strengthened our content and sports portfolio – all while the business exceeded the ambitious goals we set.”
Paramount+ and Pluto
Under Holland, Paramount+ and Pluto were the core of the direct-to-consumer operation she oversaw, and her departure removes the executive who had been guiding that side of the business through the merger prep. Holland and Jane Wiseman had also put together Paramount+’s programming strategy, including a push into female-forward dramas and a string of series orders starting with Discretion, which stars Nicole Kidman and recently began production.
That leaves the combined streaming structure leaning toward HBO continuity rather than a fresh handoff at Paramount+. Ellison has already laid out a path that favors HBO stability, and Casey Bloys is the presumed streaming head of the combined Paramount-WBD operation. Bloys is already Chairman and CEO of HBO and HBO Max Content, which makes him the natural anchor for the merger’s operating side.
Bloys and HBO stability
Bloys had indicated that he would like to keep his senior HBO team intact after parent WBD is acquired by Paramount, which matches the direction Ellison has signaled. Holland supported that course even though it appears to favor Bloys inside the combined business, a tradeoff that tells you where the balance of power is headed before the structure is fully drawn.
For readers watching Paramount+ and Max, the practical read is simple: the leadership change is happening now, before the combined platform is built, and the programming lane is tilting toward HBO stability rather than a Holland-led integration. The open question is whether Holland’s team stays in place inside the new setup or gets folded into Bloys’s structure once the merger closes.
