The iconic Warner Bros. water tower in Burbank has been given a new identity following Paramount’s $81 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.
The blockbuster transaction officially closed Tuesday, and CEO David Ellison announced that the newly combined media company would operate under the Skydance name, a nod to the production studio he founded in 2006.
Soon after the deal was announced, photographs showed workers adding the words “A Skydance Corporation” to the landmark tower, which has stood on the historic Warner Bros. lot for nearly 100 years.
Built in 1927, the 133-foot water tower once held as much as 100,000 gallons of water.
The structure was relocated from its original position near the Warner Bros. Fire Department after the 1933 Long Beach earthquake. Studio officials feared the tower could collapse and interfere with emergency operations.
Over the decades, the water tower has appeared in numerous Warner Bros. productions. It also became a recognizable feature of “Animaniacs,” the studio’s popular animated series from the 1990s.
For years, the tower’s design changed little, displaying the large yellow-and-blue Warner Bros. shield, the WB initials and the words “Warner Bros. Studios.”
That era ended Tuesday.
Water towers were once a familiar sight on Hollywood studio lots, where they provided essential water supplies for production facilities and fire protection.
Paramount Pictures constructed its own water tower on the Hollywood lot in 1927. The 145-foot structure received a Skydance makeover last year after Ellison acquired Paramount Global in August 2025, with “A Skydance Corporation” added to its exterior, according to Variety.
The expanded media company will bring together two historic film studios and their Hollywood lots, the HBO Max and Paramount+ streaming services, CNN and CBS News, live sports outlets including CBS Sports and TNT Sports, and a vast library of well-known films.
According to a company press release, the combined business generates nearly $70 billion in revenue and expects to produce more than $10 billion in free cash flow by 2030.
The merger cleared its final hurdle after the company resolved an antitrust lawsuit filed by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and 11 other left-leaning attorneys general. They argued that the transaction could weaken competition, drive up prices, reduce consumer choice and harm workers.
Ellison reached an agreement with Bonta after promising to invest an additional $1.5 billion in domestic production over five years and release 30 high-quality theatrical films annually.
The antitrust dispute followed a monthslong bidding contest between Paramount and streaming giant Netflix.
Warner Bros. had initially accepted Netflix’s proposal and identified the streamer as its preferred partner.
Paramount ultimately prevailed in February with a higher-value bid that included a costly “ticking fee.” Under the agreement, Ellison would owe $7 million for every day the transaction remained unfinished after Oct. 1.
The merger was not finalized until Sunday—four days after the deadline—leaving open the question of whether Ellison will be required to pay the estimated $28 million penalty.
