FCC approves Skydance-Paramount $8B merger
July 24 (UPI) -- The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday announced its approval of Skydance's $8 billion acquisition of Paramount Global, ending months of uncertainty surrounding the deal but inflaming allegations of corruption directed at the Trump administration.
The FCC voted 2-1 in favor of Skydance's acquisition of Paramount and all of its subsidiaries, including Paramount Pictures, CBS television, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon.
Among the commitments Skydance made to the Trump administration was ensuring it will include news and entertainment programming that "will embody a diversity of viewpoints across the political and ideological spectrum" and that CBS News' reporting "will be fair, unbiased and fact-based," according to the FCC.
Skydance has also pledged that it will not establish any diversity, equity and inclusion policies -- ideology that seeks to create inclusive environments that the Trump administration has been seeking to remove from both public and private sectors on allegations of discrimination.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr described the merger as a change that will instill public trust in media.
"It is time for a change," he said in a statement.
"That is why I welcome Skydance's commitment to make significant changes at the once storied CBS broadcast network."
Though the FCC said Skydance does not have any DEI programs, Carr said the agreement "marks another step forward in the FCC's efforts to eliminate invidious forms of DEI discrimination."
Skydance announced the deal in July of last year, but the merger has stalled amid frictions with the Trump administration, as President Donald Trump has sparred with CBS News.
Trump sued CBS News while campaigning for re-election in October for $10 billion in a lawsuit many saw as one he wouldn't win over editing of a 60 Minutes interview with his political opponent, Democrat Kamala Harris. He then upped the amount in damages to $20 billion after winning re-election.
Earlier this month, Paramount Global reached a $16 million settlement with Trump that Democrats and critics of the Trump administration are calling a bribe and an affront to free speech -- accusations that only intensified after Trump earlier this week said Skydance has pledged $20 million more in advertising, PSAs and "other Similar Programming, for a total $36 MillIon Dollars."
Paramount Global told UPI that the $16 million, minus fees and costs, will be allocated to Trump's future presidential library.
FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, the only Democrat of the three commissioners and the only one not appointed by Trump, dissented to the merger, and described Paramount's settlement as "cowardly capitulation" and accused the FCC of losing its independence.
In her strongly worded dissent, Gomez warned that this merger will not be the last time the Trump administration threatens the First Amendment.
"The Paramount payout and this reckless approval have emboldened those who believe the government can -- and should -- abuse its power to extract financial and ideological concessions, demand favored treatment and secure positive media coverage," she said.
"It is a dark chapter in a long and growing record of abuse that threatens press freedom in this country."
Democrats were quick to lament their concerns online.
"Trump filed a sham lawsuit against CBS, but instead of fighting it CBS' parent company, Paramount, paid Trump $16 million to his future library. So, you got to ask, why did Paramount do that if the suit was quote 'meritless'?" Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said in a video statement published online. "Well, maybe because they needed Trump to approve their multibillion-dollar merger, which Trump just did.
The appearance of this wink-wink deal basically let's every other company and every other billionaire know that Trump is open for business, apparently happy to accept offers in exchange for favors."
Warren has called for a full investigation into the deal.
Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass, and Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., described Thursday as "a dark day for independent journalism" and called the approval of the merger "a stain on the storied history of the Federal Communications Commission.
"The FCC's approval of the Paramount-Skydance merger reeks of the worst form of corruption. The timing speaks for itself: Paramount settled with Trump for $36 million on Tuesday and the FCC approved the merger on Wednesday," they said in a joint statement.
"The stench of this transaction will linger over the commission for years."
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