Paramount-Skydance Merger Gets the OK From the FCC

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From the lofty heights, announce that the (Paramount) mountain echoes: The Federal Communications Commission headed by Donald Trump has granted approval to the merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media. This long-awaited decision clears the path for the approximately $8 billion deal to be finalized, almost a year since its initial announcement. It appears that this merger will soon be legally completed within a short span of time. Upon consummation, David Ellison, son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison (currently worth nearly $300 billion), who is known for his support of Donald Trump, is expected to take charge of the newly formed media company. Additionally, Jeff Shell, former CEO of NBCUniversal who was dismissed in 2023 due to allegations of “inappropriate conduct with a female employee, including sexual harassment,” will likely hold a significant management position within the revamped legacy media firm.

It appears that among the three executives currently co-CEOs at Paramount Global – George Cheeks (CBS head), Chris McCarthy (cable/streaming chief), and Brian Robbins (movies boss) – it’s expected that only Cheeks will stay on board at the new Paramount. According to Vulture, McCarthy, who has been managing the MTV cable networks group since 2016 and overseeing daily operations of Paramount+ and Pluto since April 2024, plans to depart the company once the merger is finalized.

Although Paramount+ has seen significant growth recently, much of it due to original series greenlit under McCarthy (notably the various spin-offs and related titles from Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan), sources say that McCarthy has been telling associates he feels it’s the right moment for a change. Potential factors in his decision may include rumors suggesting that Ellison and Shell are considering appointing former Netflix content expert Cindy Holland to lead streaming, as well as speculation that Ellison intends to consolidate New Paramount’s broadcasting and cable into one division, with Cheeks heading the expanded empire.

Regarding Robbins, last year the Wall Street Journal reported that Ellison wants to put Dana Goldberg, who is currently chief creative officer for Skydance, in charge of the enlarged Paramount Pictures. This has led to expectations that Robbins will leave the company post-merger. However, Robbins himself has not yet publicly confirmed this speculation.

The approval by the FCC of the merger between the companies concludes a lengthy regulatory process, which may have been prolonged due to the November elections. Although the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and international regulators approved the deal back in February, Trump-appointed FCC Chairman Brendan Carr appeared to delay his part of the approval process, potentially to provide more leverage for Trump’s legal team in their now-settled lawsuit against 60 Minutes, a respected news program broadcast by CBS. Additionally, Carr has required Paramount to meet certain conditions, such as abandoning initiatives aimed at promoting diversity and eliminating perceived bias against conservatives at CBS News. It is worth noting that speculation about Trump-friendly media critic Bari Weiss possibly joining the Paramount-Skydance group surfaced in the weeks leading up to the FCC’s decision, which could indicate a potential shift towards more conservative views at CBS News. Meanwhile, CBS maintains that its cancellation of Late Show with Stephen Colbert was solely for financial reasons, though it is hard to imagine Skydance being disappointed about the timing of this announcement while the FCC was considering its decision. Both Carr and Trump have expressed satisfaction over the move.

On July 24th, Carr expressed satisfaction to journalists about Skydance’s willingness to make concessions to secure approval for their deal. “I was glad to see that if this deal goes through, Skydance has pledged to make significant changes at CBS,” Carr stated. “They’ve committed to addressing bias issues, they’ve embraced fact-based journalism, and they’ve also promised to either eliminate or stop discriminatory practices related to diversity, equity, and inclusion,” he added. Anna Gomez, the sole Democrat on the FCC, held a contrasting view, referring to Skydance’s actions as “cowardly compromises” made to gain approval from the regulatory agency. According to Gomez, “It seems that principles can be easily abandoned for pure profit.

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2025-07-25 01:54