The FCC approves Paramount's merger three weeks after the company settles with Trump
The Federal Communications Commission approved the transfer of Paramount Global's broadcast licences to investors in Skydance Media on July 24, 2025, twenty-two days after Paramount settled President Trump's lawsuit over a 60 Minutes interview. The vote was 2-1; Commissioner Anna Gomez dissented.
What happened
The Commission's Memorandum Opinion and Order, FCC 25-43 in MB Docket No. 24-275, was adopted and released on July 24, 2025 and grants the applications to transfer control of Paramount Global from National Amusements, Inc. to investors in Skydance Media. The FCC's own announcement describes it as Skydance's $8 billion acquisition of Paramount Global. The order records written commitments Skydance made to the Chairman three days earlier, on July 22: that it has no diversity, equity and inclusion programmes and will not establish any, that it confirms the elimination of those Paramount had in place, that New Paramount's programming will embody a diversity of viewpoints across the political and ideological spectrum, and that for at least two years an ombudsman reporting to the president of New Paramount will receive and evaluate complaints of bias involving CBS. Chairman Brendan Carr's statement welcomed the commitments and said today's decision marks another step forward in eliminating what he called invidious forms of DEI discrimination. Commissioner Gomez, the Commission's sole Democrat, dissented and issued a statement; her office described the transaction as one "linked to a payout to settle a baseless lawsuit and other troubling concessions". Paramount had agreed to pay $16 million to settle the president's suit on July 2, 2025, a settlement logged separately on this site.
Why it matters
A company needed the government's permission for an $8 billion deal, paid the president $16 million to settle a lawsuit against its own newsroom, and had its permission twenty-two days later. The agency's price for approval was written into the record: no DEI programmes, an ideological balance requirement on CBS's journalism, and a bias ombudsman reporting to the company's president for two years. The Commission's only dissenting member said the agency "used its vast power to pressure Paramount to broker a private legal settlement and further erode press freedom". The FCC says its conditions serve the public interest, and the order records no finding that the settlement influenced the approval.