Cindy Holland, the Paramount Skydance streaming chief, will leave the company immediately, before its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, she told colleagues on Tuesday. The abrupt departure of Ms. Holland, who joined Skydance as an adviser early last year, clears a path for Casey Bloys, the HBO chairman, to assume the top programming position for the company’s streaming services after Paramount completes the Warner Bros. purchase. The deal could close as soon as next week. Entertainment executives had speculated whether David Ellison would anoint Mr. Bloys or stick with Ms. Holland.

Ms. Holland wrote to colleagues: "As David readies for the next phase of his vision, we’ve discussed my role and the future of the combined businesses." Mr. Ellison praised Ms. Holland as "a force of nature whose impact on Paramount over the past year has been significant." Ms. Holland was one of the primary architects of Netflix’s original program strategy, playing a key role in series like "Stranger Things" and "House of Cards." She became Paramount’s direct-to-consumer chief last year, signing projects for Paramount+ including a legal thriller starring Nicole Kidman.

Mr. Bloys, a 22-year veteran of HBO, is one of the most respected executives in the industry. He has overseen "Succession" and "The White Lotus." Warner Bros. Discovery has more than 140 million subscribers, while Paramount+ has just over 80 million.