The Federal Communications Commission approved Paramount Global’s merger with Skydance and its subsidiaries on Thursday, after the entertainment company committed to dissolving its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
Paramount Global’s DEI initiatives, particularly at subsidiary CBS News, have drawn scrutiny from the Trump administration over concerns that they favor specific groups and pit them against civil rights laws prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.
Those concerns held up Skydance’s effort to acquire Paramount’s network as the FCC demanded it pledge to bring all subsidiaries into full compliance with civil rights regulations before approving the $8 billion merger. Skydance on Tuesday moved to salve unease with a letter to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr pledging to comply with “non-discrimination requirements and other applicable laws.” Skydance also said it would hire a third-party outsider to report to the new company’s president to evaluate complaints of bias.
Two days later, Carr decided to grant approval, writing that he welcomed “Skydance’s commitment to make significant changes at the once storied CBS broadcast network.”
“Today’s decision also marks another step forward in the FCC’s efforts to eliminate invidious forms of DEI discrimination,” the FCC chairman said in a statement. “And Skydance’s commitment to enhancing local news and reporting — coverage valued by the public — will also inure to the benefit of the American people. … In particular, 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.”
“Skydance will also adopt measures that can root out the bias that has undermined trust in the national news media. These commitments, if implemented, would enable CBS to operate in the public interest and focus on fair, unbiased, and fact-based coverage. Doing so would begin the process of earning back Americans’ trust,” he added. Americans no longer trust the legacy national news media to report fully, accurately, and fairly. It is time for a change.”
The FCC’s 2-1 ruling comes weeks after Paramount agreed to pay a $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump after he accused the network, through CBS News, of covering him unfairly, particularly as he campaigned against former Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 presidential election. The president alleged that the company deceptively edited Harris’s 60 Minutes interview and that the edits constituted consumer fraud and election interference.
Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, the lone holdout who failed to vote in favor of the merger Thursday, suggested the settlement made her decide not to back the deal.
“After months of cowardly capitulation to this Administration, Paramount finally got what it wanted,” she wrote in her dissent. “Unfortunately, it is the American public who will ultimately pay the price for its actions. In an unprecedented move, this once-independent FCC used its vast power to pressure Paramount to broker a private legal settlement and further erode press freedom.”
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The FCC’s approval means Skydance CEO David Ellison will take the reins at Paramount in the coming weeks, taking charge of a host of subsidiaries, including CBS, the Paramount film studio, Paramount+, and cable channels such as MTV, Comedy Central, and Nickelodeon.
In an order announcing approval of the merger, which was initially announced more than a year ago, the FCC hoped that Skydance’s acquisition of the established media company would give Paramount a pathway to emerging as a “stronger and more vibrant competitor in the modern media landscape.”
