By Jacob Burg
The Trump administration approved CBS parent company Paramount Global’s $8 billion merger with Skydance, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr said on July 24.
“The FCC has approved Skydance’s purchase of CBS after the company made significant new commitments on … addressing bias and restoring fact-based reporting, ending discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion practices, and investing in trusted local news,” Carr wrote in a post on X.
The FCC chairman said the changes would “represent an important step towards earning back Americans’ trust” in the media conglomerate, and warned Paramount’s new owner that his agency “Will be watching.”
In an extended statement attached to his X post, Carr wrote that “Americans no longer trust the legacy national news media to report fully, accurately, and fairly.”
“That is why I welcome Skydance’s commitment to make significant changes at the once storied CBS broadcast network,” Carr said. “Skydance has made written commitments to ensure that the new company’s programming embodies a diversity of viewpoints from across the political and ideological spectrum.”
As part of the deal, Skydance has committed to installing an ombudsman for at least two years who will report to the president of New Paramount and “evaluate complaints of bias.”
Skydance, which Carr notes does not currently have DEI programs in place, has promised to “not establish any such initiatives at the new company and confirms that New Paramount will also be committed to equal opportunity employment and nondiscrimination.”
The merger agreement also includes a $1.5 billion investment into Paramount to bolster and fund operations in local news, including broadcast.
“Skydance also reaffirms its commitment to localism as a core component of the public interest standard, and emphasizes that it will work closely with its affiliated broadcast stations to ensure a productive partnership that will strengthen its affiliates’ ability to serve their local communities,” the FCC said.
The FCC’s approval comes months after President Donald Trump sued CBS over a “60 Minutes” interview with then-Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Paramount Global agreed to pay $16 million to settle the dispute. The president’s suit alleged that the interview was edited to make Harris sound more coherent.
On Tuesday, Trump said he was receiving an additional $20 million in ads and public service announcements from Paramount in the settlement, bringing the total to $36 million.
Critics of the merger, including CBS “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert, accused Paramount of approving the $36 million settlement terms to ensure approval of the merger.
Not long after he publicly criticized Paramount for the settlement, Colbert was told his show would be canceled in 2026. Paramount and CBS executives have said that the cancellation “is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount” and that it “is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night.”
Jackson Richman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
