Who Owns Nickelodeon

Key Stats

Nickelodeon is owned by Paramount Skydance Corporation, a media company formed in August 2025 after Paramount Global merged with Skydance Media. The network sits within the company’s Paramount Media Networks division alongside MTV, Comedy Central, and Paramount Network.

Beyond ownership, Paramount Skydance is in active deal-making mode. As of February 2026, WBD’s board determined that the company’s revised $110.9 billion bid for Warner Bros. Discovery was a superior offer over a competing Netflix proposal — a deal that, if it closes, would reshape cable and streaming significantly. On the programming side, Nickelodeon continues building around SpongeBob SquarePants and PAW Patrol, with Jules Borkent now overseeing Nickelodeon Kids & Family’s business and strategy. The network also airs at least one live NFL game per season through a partnership with CBS Sports, complete with green slime in the end zones.

Who Owns Nickelodeon?

Paramount Skydance Corporation

Nickelodeon is owned by Paramount Skydance Corporation, headquartered in New York City. The corporation was formed on August 7, 2025, through a three-way merger involving Skydance Media, National Amusements, and Paramount Global — the entity that had held Nickelodeon since 2019 under the ViacomCBS and then Paramount Global names.

Nickelodeon operates within Paramount Skydance’s Paramount Media Networks division, which also includes MTV, Comedy Central, and Paramount Network. The company’s Direct-to-Consumer arm handles streaming distribution through Paramount+, where Nickelodeon content accounts for roughly a quarter of total audience demand for the platform’s TV catalog, according to Parrot Analytics — making it the platform’s top content contributor.

Leadership Behind Nickelodeon’s Parent Company

David Ellison serves as Chairman and CEO of Paramount Skydance Corporation. Jeff Shell, former CEO of NBCUniversal, is President. George Cheeks chairs the TV Media division, which encompasses Nickelodeon alongside CBS. Ellison founded Skydance Media in 2010 and led negotiations behind the 2025 merger that brought the company its current structure.

History of Nickelodeon and Its Founders

The Pinwheel Era (1977–1979)

Nickelodeon traces back to December 1, 1977, when Warner Cable launched a local children’s channel in Columbus, Ohio called Pinwheel. The channel aired on Warner Cable’s experimental QUBE service, an interactive television platform. Dr. Vivian Horner, an educator who previously directed research for the PBS program The Electric Company, created Pinwheel’s programming. She designed it as a mix of educational and entertaining content for young children, funded entirely by subscription fees and running without commercials.

Going National (1979)

Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment — a joint venture between Warner Communications and American Express — expanded the channel nationally. On April 1, 1979, it relaunched as Nickelodeon, the first US cable network dedicated exclusively to children’s programming. The name referenced early 20th-century “nickelodeon” movie theaters where admission cost five cents.

The Viacom Years and Corporate Evolution

By 1985, Warner Communications streamlined its operations and bought out American Express’s stake, forming MTV Networks, Inc. Viacom acquired MTV Networks in 1986, taking control of Nickelodeon. Under Viacom’s ownership, the channel expanded internationally and launched series that defined children’s television for decades. In 2019, Viacom merged with CBS Corporation to form ViacomCBS, which rebranded as Paramount Global in February 2022, before the Skydance merger finalized in August 2025.

Largest Shareholders of Nickelodeon

Nickelodeon is a wholly owned subsidiary and has no independent shareholders. Ownership interest flows entirely through Paramount Skydance Corporation, which trades on Nasdaq under the ticker PSKY. Unlike Netflix’s shareholder composition, where no single investor holds majority control, Paramount Skydance’s structure is built around concentrated family voting power.

The Ellison Family

David Ellison holds majority voting rights through the company’s dual-class share structure. His father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, holds approximately 35.5% of the family’s combined voting interest through a trust-controlled entity called Sayonara LLC. Together, the Ellison family exercises 100% voting control over Paramount Skydance, meaning all major decisions affecting Nickelodeon ultimately trace back to their authority.

This control structure is common in media companies and allows the Ellison family to set long-term strategy without pressure from institutional shareholders or activist investors — a notably different arrangement from the Redstone family’s previous control through National Amusements, which dissolved with the merger.

RedBird Capital Partners

RedBird Capital backed Skydance Media before the 2025 merger. Andy Gordon, Paramount Skydance’s Chief Operating and Strategy Officer, joined directly from RedBird Capital. The firm’s early involvement in shaping Skydance’s growth gives it an indirect presence within Paramount Skydance’s leadership structure, though it does not hold direct equity in Nickelodeon itself.

Institutional Shareholders

Institutional investors hold Paramount Skydance’s non-voting Class B shares and gain economic exposure to Nickelodeon and other properties through the stock without influencing governance. Under the prior Paramount Global entity, Vanguard Group held a 10.2% stake in Class A shares, while BlackRock held approximately 9.28%, and State Street Corporation held around 5.96%.

Sumner M. Redstone’s National Amusements Trust had previously held a controlling stake in Paramount Global. Shari Redstone chaired Paramount Global’s board before the Skydance merger transferred authority to the Ellison family in August 2025. The ownership structure of Pluto TV, another Paramount Skydance streaming property, follows an identical pattern — no independent shareholders and full governance through the parent company’s board.

Who Is on the Board of Directors for Nickelodeon?

Nickelodeon does not maintain an independent board. Governance flows through Paramount Skydance Corporation’s board, which had 11 members as of early 2026.

Executive Leadership

David Ellison chairs the board and serves as CEO. He founded Skydance Media in 2010 and produced franchises including Mission: Impossible and Top Gun: Maverick before engineering the Paramount merger. Jeff Shell serves as President and board member. Shell previously led NBCUniversal and brings deep experience running large cable portfolios — knowledge that directly applies to overseeing properties like Nickelodeon through the continuing shift from linear television to streaming.

Technology and Finance

Safra Catz, CEO of Oracle, sits on the Paramount Skydance board as an independent director. Her involvement connects Paramount Skydance to Oracle’s cloud infrastructure, which is being used to unify Paramount+ and Pluto TV’s technology stack starting in 2026. Dennis Cinelli previously held a board seat before stepping down in January 2026 to become the company’s Chief Financial Officer — a lateral move that places financial oversight closer to daily executive operations.

Operations and Strategy

Andy Gordon holds the role of Chief Operating and Strategy Officer. He joined from RedBird Capital, the private equity firm that backed Skydance before the merger, and oversees corporate integrations including efforts to align Nickelodeon’s production and distribution under the new company structure.

Andrew Campion joined as an independent director in January 2026. He is the CEO of Unrivaled Sports and previously served as COO of Nike. His experience in consumer brand management and sports partnerships adds a relevant perspective to a board overseeing Nickelodeon, a network that now runs NFL Slimetime each football season and aired the first Nickelodeon-themed Super Bowl simulcast in 2024. Understanding how competing ad-supported streaming services like Tubi are governed helps illustrate the structural choices Paramount Skydance has made for its own properties.

Pre-Merger Board Transitions

Before the August 2025 merger, Paramount Global’s board included Shari Redstone as Chair alongside directors Barbara Byrne, Linda Griego, Judith McHale, Charles Phillips Jr., and Susan Schuman. In June 2025, the company nominated three additional directors — Mary Boies, Charles Ryan, and Roanne Sragow Licht — as the merger awaited regulatory approval. Four directors, including Dawn Ostroff and Nicole Seligman, departed in 2024 during merger discussions. The board restructured entirely following the merger’s August 2025 close.

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