Late Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced it had “approved Skydance’s $8 billion acquisition of Paramount Global and its subsidiaries, including the ultimate parent company of the CBS network of owned and operated broadcast television stations, by granting a series of applications that transfer FCC licenses and authorizations.”
In acknowledging the promises to appoint an ombudsman to fight bias, the FCC praised the goal of “embody[ing] a diversity of viewpoints across the political and ideological spectrum and that CBS’s reporting will be fair, unbiased, and fact-based.”
Along with also praising the move by Paramount to end its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, the FCC said Skydance would also invest $1.5 billion to “strengthen its affiliates’ ability to serve their local communities” because local news is “a core component of the public interest standard.”
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr — who’s cleared a high bar for being one of the least-favorite Trump officials in the liberal media — said he “welcome[s] Skydance’s commitment to make significant changes at the once storied CBS broadcast network,” including “a diversity of viewpoints from across the political and ideological spectrum” and “root out the bias that has undermined the trust in the national news media.”
He continued:
Americans no longer trust the legacy national news media to report fully, accurately, and fairly...These commitments, if implemented, would enable CBS to operate in the public interest and focus on fair, unbiased, and fact-based coverage....Skydance’s commitment to enhancing local news and reporting—coverage valued by the public—will also inure to the benefit of the American people.
The deal had been in the works for a year and a half with the first rumors trickling out in December 2023 and, after a series of starts and stops (including an initial deal from early June that fell apart), an agreement between the two companies was made official just over a year ago on July 7, 2024.
Given their sizes and Paramount overseeing CBS with its 100-plus affiliates (including 28 owned-and-operated stations), it required a lengthy FCC approval process.
The liberal media and other skeptics have long been arguing President Donald Trump’s 60 Minutes lawsuit settlement and the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert were conditions for FCC approval. Of course, they’ve been leveling those claims without any direct proof.