The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has approved the long-anticipated $8 billion merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media, clearing the path for a major shake-up in the American media landscape.
The deal includes control over CBS, Paramount Pictures, and Nickelodeon. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said Skydance’s ownership would bring “significant changes” to CBS, highlighting the company’s commitment to broad ideological representation in its programming. Skydance has also agreed not to implement any Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
David Ellison, CEO of Skydance and son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison, will oversee the combined entity. Paramount Chair Shari Redstone will exit the board as her family's National Amusements sells its controlling stake.
The approval was not unanimous. Commissioner Anna Gomez, the lone Democrat on the FCC panel, dissented sharply. She cited concerns over recent events, including Paramount’s $16 million settlement with Donald Trump over a CBS “60 Minutes” interview, and the abrupt cancellation of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
Critics, including the Writer’s Guild of America and several Democratic lawmakers, claim the merger raises red flags around media independence. They allege political pressure may have influenced CBS’s programming decisions and the merger’s approval process.
Despite controversy, the merger now moves forward, likely reshaping how one of America’s oldest broadcasting networks operates in the coming years.
