FCC Votes 2-1 to Approve Politically Charged Merger

The Federal Communications Commission announced Thursday it has agreed to Paramount's merger with the Hollywood studio Skydance, after a yearlong campaign by the companies that included political charges and countercharges—as well as new alignment with President Trump's agenda. The commission's vote was 2-1, the Los Angeles Times reported, with both Republicans voting yes and the Democrat voting no. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said in a statement that Skydance provided assurances that it will practice unbiased journalism and not establish programs related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

"Americans no longer trust the legacy national news media to report fully, accurately, and fairly," Carr said, per the New York Times. "It is time for a change. That is why I welcome Skydance's commitment to make significant changes at the once storied CBS broadcast network." The approval went through three weeks after Paramount agreed to pay Trump $16 million to settle his lawsuit over the editing of a story on a CBS News 60 Minutes broadcast. The commission's Democrat, Anna Gomez, said in a statement: "After months of cowardly capitulation to this Administration, Paramount finally got what it wanted. Unfortunately, it is the American public who will ultimately pay the price for its actions."

Carr had said earlier in the week that Skydance had made several major concessions that "pleased" him, per the Washington Post. They include conducting a review of CBS content and appointing an ombudsman to look into claims of bias. Skydance's general counsel had written to Carr on Tuesday promising to "not have any teams or individual roles focused on DEI," per the LA Times. Paramount's decision to end Stephen Colbert's CBS show also featured in the debate over the merger. Trump praised the cancellation while others, including Colbert and his fellow late-night hosts, ripped it as part of Paramount's groveling to win merger approval.