FCC Approves Paramount-Skydance Deal After Skydance’s CBS Ombudsman, Anti-DEI Pledges

The FCC has granted approvals necessary to clear the way for the $8 billion merger of Paramount Global and David Ellison’s Skydance Media.

The agency OK’d the transfer of licenses for 28 CBS-owned local TV stations to the Skydance-led ownership group that is taking over Paramount Global — removing the merger’s final regulatory hurdle. The FCC approval comes more than a year after the parties first announced the agreement.

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With the last obstacle removed, the deal is expected to close in the coming weeks.

The commission voted 2-1 to approve the deal, with Commissioner Anna Gomez opposing it. Gomez, the lone Democrat on the commission, said she was troubled by Paramount’s payment to settle a suit brought by President Trump and by other concessions.

“After months of cowardly capitulation to this Administration, Paramount finally got what it wanted,” Gomez said. “Unfortunately, it is the American public who will ultimately pay the price for its actions.”

The approval by the FCC, led by Trump-appointed chairman Brendan Carr, comes after Skydance made commitments in to the agency in two areas: ensuring diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs at Skydance and Paramount have been shut down; and appointing an ombudsman to review “complaints of bias or other concerns” involving CBS as part of ensuring “viewpoint diversity.” Skydance’s top lawyer outlined the pledges in two letters to Carr dated July 22.

“Americans no longer trust the legacy national news media to report fully, accurately, and fairly. It is time for a change,” Carr said in a statement. “That is why I welcome Skydance’s commitment to make significant changes at the once storied CBS broadcast network.”

Paramount Global declined to comment. A rep for Skydance did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Carr has been unapologetic in pushing Trump’s agenda to eradicate DEI and crack down on alleged “media bias” in dealing with companies under the FCC’s regulatory purview. At the FCC’s monthly open meeting earlier Thursday, Carr said he was “pleased” with Skydance’s stated commitments on both fronts, saying, “They’re hitting on issues that I think we need to see significant change on.”

Meanwhile, the FCC approval comes after Paramount agreed to pay $16 million to President Trump to settle his lawsuit against CBS over a “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris. Trump, which had been demanding an absurd $20 billion in damages, alleged the Harris interview was deceptively edited and constituted consumer fraud and interference with the 2024 presidential election. Before settling, Paramount and CBS moved to dismiss Trump’s suit as “an affront to the First Amendment.”