Paramount Global posted second-quarter earnings that exceeded Wall Street estimates on Thursday as the company prepares for a sale to Skydance Media. Shares of Paramount rose 0.2% in after-hours trading to $12.

After finally getting approval from the Federal Communications Commission, Skydance Media is just weeks away from completing its $8-billion merger with Paramount Global, leading to sweeping changes for some of the most iconic media brands.

The long saga of Paramount's sale to David Ellison's Skydance Entertainment is finally done; how is he likely to reshape the century-old media company for the future?