Paramount Global and FCC discuss steps to push Skydance merger over the line – report
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has started talks with Shari Redstone-led Paramount Global about actions it would need to take to get the Paramount-Skydance merger over the line, according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
Shari Redstone
CPJ Photos via CC
One of the steps being discussed, said the WSJ, is a commitment from Paramount Global that it will cease any diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, which have become a focal point both for the FCC, which has been reviewing the merger for several months, and the Trump administration.
Led by Trump-appointed chairman Brendan Carr, the FCC has officially been reviewing Skydance’s US$8bn takeover of Paramount Global because it involves the transfer of CBS’s broadcast licences.
However, it appears that little progress has been made. A deadline to approve the deal had previously been set for April 7 but was extended for an additional 90 days earlier this month.
In addition to Carr targeting companies with DEI policies, the other major issue is that Trump is suing Paramount Global-owned news organisation CBS News over an interview it conducted with Kamala Harris in the run-up to the US election.
Trump is personally suing CBS News for US$20bn, alleging the organisation favourably edited an answer in which Harris discussed the Israel-Gaza conflict. Trump, who filed the lawsuit just before he won a second term as US president, alleged that the actions of CBS News amounted to “election interference.”
CBS News subsequently released the full transcript of the Harris interview, and most legal experts agree that it has a strong case that the answer was not deceptively edited, as Trump alleges.
It is widely believed the ongoing lawsuit between Trump and CBS News is one of the main hold-ups in the Paramount-Skydance deal being approved. Carr has claimed that the lawsuit and the FCC’s review are not linked.
Previously, the deal was rubber stamped by the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the European Commission.
Earlier this month, the New York Times reported that Paramount Global and Trump have agreed to bring in a mediator to help settle the legal dispute, with the mediation process expected to begin next week.
The suggestion that Paramount could settle the Trump lawsuit has angered CBS News staff. Earlier this week, Bill Owens, executive producer of news programme 60 Minutes, quit the organisation, citing a loss of editorial autonomy. According to reports, Redstone is in favour of settling the Trump legal case, while CBS News staffers are against that, especially if it would involve issuing an apology.
The array of overlapping pieces is complicated further by the fact Trump is a close friend of Larry Ellison, the billionaire mogul backstopping the Paramount-Skydance deal, which is spearheaded by his son David.
After a drawn-out and contentious sale process, the Paramount-Skydance merger was made official in July 2024. At the time, company leaders said they expected the deal to close at some point in the first half of 2025.
At a time when Hollywood is continuing to struggle in a changing media landscape, the Skydance-Paramount merger is considered an important move to unlock new investment in content.
