The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted approvals necessary to clear the way for the $8 billion (USD) merger of Paramount Global and David Ellison’s Skydance Media.
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| Paramount and Skydance. Credit: Getty Images. |
The agency okayed 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.
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 in her dissent. “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 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, reports Variety. 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, widely seen as frivolous and “an affront to the First Amendment.”
Trump, Paramount and Carr had each claimed that the FCC’s deal-approval process was separate from the 60 Minutes suit — despite allegations from Sen. Elizabeth Warren and others that the settlement was a quid-pro-quo to secure the Trump administration’s approval of Paramount-Skydance.
Carr, in a Feb. 7 interview with Fox News, said Trump “has been right on these media bias issues” in discussing the FCC’s review of a conservative group’s complaint that the 60 Minutes Harris interview represented “news distortion.” Ironically, Fox News were spotted doing the same for Trump, although no charges have been bought against the network. He previously told Fox News the “news distortion” complaint would likely factor into the FCC’s review of the Skydance-Paramount merger.
Under the Paramount-Skydance deal, announced July 7, 2024, after months of on-again-off-again talks, Larry Ellison (father of David Ellison), Skydance and Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital will buy the shares of Shari Redstone’s National Amusements Inc. (which owns 77% of the voting power in Paramount Global). At that point Skydance will merge with Paramount to become “Paramount Skydance Corp.” While it will be controlled by the Ellison family, Paramount Skydance will remain publicly traded.
The new company is to be led by chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) David Ellison, with Jeff Shell (former CEO of NBCUniversal) installed as president. Shari Redstone is set to receive $1.75 billion in cash upon closing of the Skydance deal, and she will exit the merged company’s board.
As the deal had been in limbo pending FCC approval for months, Paramount undertook several rounds of layoffs, as the company’s current three co-CEOs — CBS head George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy, president and CEO of Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks, and Paramount Pictures head Brian Robbins — aimed to slash $500 million in annualized costs.
With the FCC having cleared the Skydance Media-Paramount merger and the deal set to close in a matter of weeks, Paramount Global co-CEO Chris McCarthy will leave the media conglomerate, a company source confirmed to Variety.
McCarthy, head of Showtime & MTV Entertainment Studios, became co-CEO of Paramount Global in April 2024 with George Cheeks, president and CEO of CBS, and Brian Robbins, president and CEO of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon. That came after Paramount ousted former CEO Bob Bakish.
Insiders expect Cheeks to remain at the head of CBS with the Skydance merger, while Robbins is expected to depart the company. At Paramount Pictures, COO Courtney Armstrong and Marc Weinstock, head of worldwide marketing and distribution, will be in charge of the studio during the transition. (A Paramount spokesperson declined to comment.)
Post-merger, David Ellison, CEO of Skydance, will become chief executive of the new company, to be called Paramount Skydance Corp. Former NBCU CEO Jeff Shell will become president.
Under change-in-control provisions in their contracts, Paramount Global’s three co-CEOs are eligible to receive severance payments in the event of a sale or merger (equivalent to two times their annual base salary plus twice their annual target bonus amount, among other benefits) if they’re terminated or if they quit after being demoted. McCarthy will stay through the transition period and would remain in his post if the merger deal is not completed.
Under the three co-CEO structure established last year, McCarthy’s scope expanded to include oversight of the company’s streaming division, encompassing Paramount+ and Pluto TV, in addition to his ongoing role as head of Showtime/MTV Entertainment. The three Co-CEOs jointly oversee the broader Paramount Global corporate functions.
In the role, McCarthy forged a significant creative partnership with Taylor Sheridan, signing him to his first overall TV deal. Together, they built the so-called Yellowstone Universe, which includes Yellowstone — which has ranked as the No. 1 scripted series in the U.S. — as well as and spin-offs 1883, 1923 and upcoming titles The Dutton’s, Y: Marshalls, 1944 and The Madison.
In addition, McCarthy brought Jon Stewart back to helm The Daily Show, and the exec struck a deal with South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone to expand their partnership with Paramount, committing to additional seasons of South Park (beyond Season 25) and contributing multiple exclusive events to Paramount+.
McCarthy, as head of Showtime & MTV Entertainment Studios, oversaw brands including Paramount, Showtime, MTV, Comedy Central and Smithsonian. In the role, he consolidated nine separate businesses into one portfolio, which has nearly doubled its audience, streamlined expenses and grown profits, according to the media company. In addition, he spearheaded the expansion of the business with the launch of Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios, which now produces more than 100 series annually and drove an aggressive push of the brands into social media.
Under McCarthy’s leadership, the consolidated Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios has produced shows including Yellowstone, Emily in Paris, South Park, RuPaul’s Drag Race, Billions, Dexter: Origins and The Daily Show. For Paramount+, the group’s output has included Tulsa King, George & Tammy, Mayor of Kingstown, Yellowjackets, The Chi and Special Ops: Lioness.
McCarthy started his career as a TV producer, partnering with Jeff Probst to develop and sell several unscripted properties to Paramount (then Viacom). He joined the company later in 2003 as a freelance employee and rose through the ranks, earning his first content leadership role in 2008 as general manager of MTV2, before becoming president of VH1 in 2015 and adding MTV to his purview in 2016.
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Original source: Deadline.
Originally published: July 25, 2025 at 02:2x BST.
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