Skydance assures FCC that Paramount DEI policies are scrapped amid merger approval push
Skydance Media is seeking to assure the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that all diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives at Paramount Global have been scrapped as it continues its push to win regulatory approval for its US$8bn merger deal.
Skydance’s general counsel and co-president of business Stephanie Kyoko McKinnon filed a letter with the FCC this week to “confirm the elimination” of DEI initiatives that were previously in place, and “confirm [its] commitments” to not reintroduce them.
Skydance, for its part, does not have any DEI programmes in place. “The company is committed to ensuring that its storytelling reflects the many audiences and communities it serves in a manner that complies with non-discrimination requirements and other applicable laws,” said McKinnon.
In a separate filing, the company also told the FCC it would ensure its news and entertainment programming “embodies a diversity of viewpoints across the political and ideological spectrum, consistent with the varying perspectives of the viewing audience.”
One of the ways it will do that is by hiring an ombudsman to ensure that CBS News, which was the subject of a recently settled lawsuit by US president Donald Trump, will investigate any claims of editorial bias.
DEI policies have been in the crosshairs of the FCC ever since Trump returned to the White House, with companies including Disney, Paramount Global, Comcast and Warner Bros Discovery stepping back from their own internal initiatives.
These moves came after the president signed an executive order in January calling for an end to DEI policies.
The executive order read: “Illegal DEI… policies not only violate the text and spirit of our longstanding Federal civil-rights laws, they also undermine our national unity, as they deny, discredit, and undermine the traditional American values of hard work, excellence, and individual achievement in favor of an unlawful, corrosive, and pernicious identity-based spoils system.”
Comcast and Disney are both currently under investigation by the FCC for their DEI practices.
Skydance’s letters to the FCC come as the company, which is led by David Ellison, attempts to push through its deal to merge with Paramount Global. The deal is being reviewed by the FCC, led by Trump-appointed chairman Brendan Carr, because it involves the transfer of broadcast licences.
It is widely believed that the FCC was waiting for Paramount-owned CBS News to settle its lawsuit with Trump before rubber-stamping the deal. With CBS News agreeing to pay US$16m to settle the lawsuit earlier this month, it is expected that the path is now clear for the Skydance/Paramount deal to close.
Ellison also met with Carr last week, according to a filing, with the Skydance head making a “commitment to unbiased journalism” and “American storytelling.”
Paramount has previously said it will continue to implement its DEI policies on a market-by-market basis outside the US, including its No Diversity, No Commission policy, which began in the UK in mid-2020 and was expanded to the international organisation in 2022.
Earlier this year, Sarah Rose, president of 5 and UK regional lead for Paramount, said the UK broadcaster was holding firm on its commitment to DEI in its shows, workforce and principles.
