Paramount Global and Skydance Media announced Friday that their merger will take place next month, barring any issues with the $8 billion deal.
The Federal Communications Commission approved Skydance’s acquisition of Paramount. The merger is officially scheduled to take place Aug. 7. The new company will be called “New Paramount.”
When FCC Chairman Brendan Carr approved the acquisition on Thursday, he talked about the lack of faith in the legacy media.
“Americans no longer trust the legacy national news media to report fully, accurately and fairly. It is time for a change,” Mr. Carr said. “That is why I welcome Skydance’s commitment to make significant changes at the once-storied CBS broadcast network.”
He said Skydance had made commitments to ensure that the new company “embodies a diversity of viewpoints from across the political and ideological spectrum.”
It will also adopt “measures that can root out the bias that has undermined trust in the national news media,” he said.
The merger’s approval comes after Paramount settled in its lawsuit with President Trump and agreed to pay $16 million that will go toward his presidential library and his legal fees.
Mr. Trump sued the CBS News parent company for $20 billion over the “60 Minutes” interview the outlet had with then-Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, his then-election rival.
The lawsuit alleged that CBS edited the interview and tried to “tip the scales in favor of the Democratic Party” with its “partisan and unlawful acts of election and voter interference through malicious, deceptive and substantial news distortion calculated to confuse, deceive and mislead the public.”
“With Paramount folding to Donald Trump at the same time the company needs his administration’s approval for its billion-dollar merger, this could be bribery in plain sight,” Ms. Warren, Massachusetts Democrat, said. “Paramount has refused to provide answers to a congressional inquiry, so I’m calling for a full investigation into whether or not any anti-bribery laws were broken.”
During the October 2024 interview, Ms. Harris was asked a question by host Bill Whitaker about the Israel-Hamas war, but clips aired on “60 Minutes” and “Face the Nation” showed her giving different answers.
Both answers were part of one big response that Ms. Harris gave. The outlet posted the transcript on its website earlier this year and defended the interview, saying that the uncut transcript shows that the interview was “not doctored or deceitful.”
“In reporting the news, journalists regularly edit interviews — for time, space or clarity. In making these edits, 60 Minutes is always guided by the truth and what we believe will be most informative to the viewing public — all while working within the constraints of broadcast television,” the network said.
CBS journalists were not happy with the company’s decision to settle. CBS News President and CEO Wendy McMahon and “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens both resigned in May and April, respectively, citing disagreements with the company’s path and the loss of independent decision-making.
The merger also comes after CBS announced it was canceling “The Late Show” with Stephen Colbert, furthering the aggravation surrounding the settlement with Mr. Trump.
