Federal regulators approve Paramount's $8 billion deal with Skydance,
capping months of turmoil
[July 25, 2025] By
WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS and MICHAEL LIEDTKE
NEW YORK (AP) — Federal regulators on Thursday approved Paramount's $8
billion merger with Skydance, clearing the way to close a deal that
combined Hollywood glitz with political intrigue.
The stamp of approval from the Federal Communications Commission comes
after months of turmoil revolving around President Donald Trump’s legal
battle with “60 Minutes,” the crown jewel of Paramount-owned broadcast
network CBS. With the specter of the Trump administration potentially
blocking the hard-fought deal with Skydance, Paramount earlier this
month agreed to pay a $16 million settlement with the president.
Critics of the settlement lambasted it as a veiled bribe to appease
Trump, amid rising alarm over editorial independence overall. Further
outrage also emerged after CBS said it was canceling Stephen Colbert’s
“Late Show” just days after the comedian sharply criticized the parent
company’s settlement on air. Paramount cited financial reasons, but big
names both within and outside the company have questioned those motives.
In a statement accompanying the deal's approval, FCC Chairman Brendan
Carr hailed the merger as an opportunity to bring more balance to
“once-storied” CBS.
“Americans no longer trust the legacy national news media to report
fully, accurately, and fairly. It is time for a change," Carr said.
While seeking approval, Skydance management assured regulators that it
will carefully watch for any perceived biased at CBS News and hire an
ombudsman to review any complaints about fairness. In a Tuesday filing,
the company’s general counsel maintained that New Paramount will embody
“a diversity of viewpoints across the political and ideological
spectrum” — and also noted that it plans to take a “comprehensive
review” of CBS to make “any necessary changes.”
The FCC approved the merger by a 2-1 vote, and the regulator who opposed
it expressed disdain for how it all came together.
“After months of cowardly capitulation to this administration, Paramount
finally got what it wanted," FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez said in a
statement. “Unfortunately, it is the American public who will ultimately
pay the price for its actions.” Gomez was appointed by former President
Joe Biden.
Paramount and Skydance have said they wanted to seal the deal by this
September, and now appear to be on a path to make it happen by then, if
not sooner.
Over the past year the merger has periodically looked like it might fall
apart as the two sides haggled over terms. But the two companies finally
struck an accord that valued the combined company at $28 billion, with a
consortium led by the family of Skydance founder David Ellison and
RedBird Capital agreeing to invest $8 billion.
Signaling a shakeup would accompany the changing of the guard, Ellison
stressed the need to transition into a “tech hybrid” to stay competitive
in today’s entertainment landscape. That includes plans to “rebuild” the
Paramount+ streaming service, among wider efforts to expand
direct-to-consumer offerings in a world with more entertainment options
and shorter attention spans.
[to top of second column] |
Brendan Carr listens during a Senate Commerce, Science, and
Transportation committee hearing to examine the Federal
Communications Commission on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 24,
2020. (Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post via AP, File)
 Ellison, who is poised to become CEO
of the restructured Paramount, is the son of Larry Ellison,
technology titan and co-founder of Oracle. Besides possessing an
estimated $288 billion fortune, Larry Ellison has been described as
a friend by Trump.
While Paramount sweated out regulatory approval of
the merger, one of TV's best-known and longest-running programs
turned into a political hot potato when Trump sued CBS over the
handling of a “60 Minutes” interview with his Democratic Party
opponent in last year's presidential election, Kamala Harris. Trump
accused “60 Minutes” of editing the interview in a deceptive way
designed to help Harris win the election. After initially demanding
$10 billion in damages, Trump upped the ante to $20 billion while
asserting he had suffered “mental anguish.”
The case quickly became a closely-watched test of whether a
corporation would back its journalists and stand up to Trump.
Editing for brevity’s sake is commonplace in TV journalism and CBS
argued Trump’s claims had no merit. But reports of company
executives exploring a potential settlement with Trump later piled
up, particularly after Carr — appointed to lead the FCC by Trump —
launched an investigation earlier this year.
By the start of July, Paramount agreed to pay Trump $16 million. The
company said the money would go to Trump’s future presidential
library and to pay his legal fees, but maintained that it was not
apologizing or expressing regret for the story.
The settlement triggered an outcry among critics who pilloried
Paramount for backing down from the legal fight to increase the
chances of closing the Skydance deal. U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren,
D-Mass, said that the deal “could be bribery in plain sight” — and
called for an investigation and new rules to restrict donations to
presidential libraries.
Concerns about editorial independence at CBS had piled up even in
the months before the deal was announced — with Paramount overseeing
“60 Minutes” stories in new ways, as well as journalists at the
network expressing frustrations about the changes on an
award-winning program that has been a weekly staple for nearly 57
years
In April, then-executive producer of “60 Minutes” Bill Owens
resigned — noting that it had “become clear that I would not be
allowed to run the show as I have always run it.” Another domino
fell in May when CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon also stepped down,
citing disagreements with the company “on the path forward,” amid
speculation of Paramount nearing a settlement with Trump. CBS has
since appointed Tanya Simon as the top producer at “60 Minutes” —
elevating a respected insider in a move that could be viewed as a
way to calm nerves leading up to the changes that Skydance's Ellison
is expected to make.
—-
Liedtke reported from San Francisco.
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