David Ellison stepped within reach of his hard-fought prize, Paramount Global, after winning regulators’ blessing for his Skydance Media’s $8-billion takeover of the storied media company.
The Federal Communications Commission, led by President Trump-appointed Chairman Brendan Carr, approved the Skydance-Paramount merger Thursday after months of turmoil and a monumental collision between the president’s broad powers and press freedoms.
Carr’s consent came just three weeks after Paramount agreed to pay Trump $16 million to settle the president’s lawsuit over edits to a “60 Minutes” broadcast. Trump had claimed CBS producers doctored the October interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris to boost her election chances. CBS denied his allegations, saying the edits were routine.
1st Amendment experts called Trump’s suit “frivolous.” But, after months of internal upheaval, Paramount capitulated. The move was widely seen as a prerequisite for Skydance to win FCC approval and push the Paramount-Skydance merger over the finish line.
Trump has said on social media that, as part of the settlement, he also expects the new owners to provide another $20 million in public service announcements and other free programming.
The FCC approval clears the final regulatory hurdle for the acquisition that will bring another technology titan to Hollywood. Carr authorized the transfer of Paramount’s CBS television station licenses to Larry Ellison, Oracle’s co-founder who ranks among the world’s richest men, and his family.
“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.”
The FCC commissioners voted 2-1 in favor of the deal. Two Republicans, Carr and Olivia Trusty, voted yes, while Anna Gomez, the lone Democrat on the panel, dissented.
“After months of cowardly capitulation to this Administration, Paramount finally got what it wanted,” Gomez said in a statement. “Unfortunately, it is the American public who will ultimately pay the price for its actions.”
The Ellisons’ takeover of Paramount is expected to be complete in the coming days.
FCC approval came the day after Comedy Central’s “South Park” launched its 27th season with a scathing episode that skewered both Paramount and Trump, who was depicted nude and in bed with Satan, mirroring the show’s past portrayals of Saddam Hussein.
Santa Monica-based Skydance, which is owned by the Ellison family and private equity firm RedBird Capital Partners, faces an uphill slog to restore Paramount to its former glory. Years of programming under-investments, management missteps and ownership turmoil have taken a heavy toll.
Viewers’ shift to streaming has upended Paramount’s TV networks, CBS, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, MTV and BET. Paramount Pictures lags behind Disney, Universal and Warner Bros.
Sumner Redstone’s family will exit the Hollywood stage, after nearly 40 years. The pugnacious mogul from Boston, who died five years ago, presided during an era of entertainment excesses in the 80s, 90s and early aughts — when Paramount released beloved blockbusters and cable television was in its hey-day.
For a stretch this spring, it seemed the Skydance deal could unravel.
The FCC’s review had stalled amid the legal wrangling over Trump’s lawsuit. Carr, in one of his first moves as chairman, separately opened an FCC inquiry into alleged news distortion with the “60 Minutes” Harris interview — putting CBS uncomfortably under the microscope.
Paramount’s controlling shareholder Shari Redstone (Sumner’s daughter), and some Skydance executives, urged Paramount to settle. But CBS News executives refused to apologize to Trump for the “60 Minutes” edits, saying CBS journalists did nothing wrong. The settlement, which steers money to Trump’s future presidential library, did not include an apology from CBS News or Paramount.
Two high-level CBS News executives departed and three progressive U.S. senators demanded answers. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and the others lambasted the settlement talks, saying that paying Trump money to end a “bogus” lawsuit simply to get a merger approved could be akin to paying a bribe.
The winds shifted in June. David Ellison, Larry’s 42-year-old son, talked briefly with Trump at a UFC fight in New Jersey. Days later, Trump talked favorably about his friendship with Larry Ellison and the Paramount-Skydance deal.
“Ellison’s great,” Trump told reporters in mid-June. “He’ll do a great job with it.”
David Ellison last week met with Carr in Washington to persuade him that Paramount would be in good hands. They discussed the firm’s commitments and management philosophies. Skydance also gave assurances that its Chinese investors would not have a say in the company’s affairs.
Last week, CBS separately said it was canceling “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” in May. The company said the move was financial, but conservatives and progressives alike questioned the timing due to the pending merger and Colbert’s pointed barbs at Trump.
Skydance outlined its planned changes at Paramount in a letter this week to Carr. Skydance promised to cancel all diversity initiatives, disband its Office of Global Inclusion and strip references to DEI from its internal and external messaging. The company also said news and entertainment programming would not tilt in any one political direction.
“New Paramount’s new management will ensure that the company’s array of news and entertainment programming embodies a diversity of viewpoints across the political and ideological spectrum, consistent with the varying perspectives of the viewing audience,” Skydance’s general counsel Stephanie Kyoko McKinnon wrote in Tuesday’s letter to Carr.
The company said it would install an ombudsman at CBS News for at least two years.
“They are committing to serious changes at CBS,” Carr told reporters in Washington earlier Thursday. “I think that would be a good thing. They’ve committed to addressing bias issues. They committed to embracing fact-based journalism.”
Ellison began his pursuit of Paramount two years ago.
He formalized his bid by January 2024. After months of negotiations, Paramount’s board and Redstone approved the Skydance takeover July 7, 2024.
Paramount’s leaders considered other prospective owners but concluded that Skydance, with its Ellison backing, would bring a solid financial foundation for a company that traces its roots back more than a century. Redstone also wanted Paramount to remain whole, rather than broken into pieces.
As part of the agreement, Skydance will be folded into the public company. Its backers will inject new capital to bolster Paramount’s finances and install a new cadre of leaders. Ellison will serve as chairman and chief executive. Former NBCUniversal Chief Executive Jeff Shell is slated to be president.
CBS’ current leader George Cheeks, one of Paramount’s three co-chief executives, could join the new regime. But the two other current chiefs, Chris McCarthy and Brian Robbins, are expected to depart.
The Skydance deal is expected to be executed in two parts. Larry Ellison and RedBird will buyout the Redstone family holding company, National Amusements Inc., for $2.4 billion.
After their debts are paid, the Redstone family will leave with $1.75 billion. The family controls 77% of Paramount’s voting shares, which will be passed to the Ellisons and RedBird.
Under the deal terms, the new Paramount will offer to buy out some shares of existing shareholders and inject $1.5 billion into Paramount’s strained balance sheet.
Paramount will then absorb Skydance, which has a movie, television, animation, video games and a sports unit. The deal values Skydance at $4.75-billion.
“We’re going to reorganize and restructure the business to prioritize cash flow generation,” David Ellison told investors last July. “With a track record in both entertainment and technological expertise [we will] be able to transition the company through this period of time to ensure that Paramount’s brightest days are ahead.”
