On August 7, the entertainment company Paramount Global is scheduled to finalize its $ 8 billion merger with Skydance Media, two weeks after President Donald Trump’s administration received its approval.
The final yearlong agreement, which was first unveiled in July 2024, was announced by the two companies on Friday.
The merger, which brings the powerful Redstone family’s dominance over the Paramount Entertainment empire to an end, is regarded as a significant shake-up in the American media landscape.
The merger’s political setting has attracted even more attention in recent weeks.
Following a number of Paramount maneuvers that were widely viewed as concessions to the Trump administration, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the merger’s move on Thursday.
Although the FCC is technically a branch of the federal government, President Trump has attempted to influence such organizations by appointing loyal allies to their leadership since taking office in January for his second term.
Given Trump’s antagonistic relationship with CBS Broadcasting Inc., one of Paramount’s top assets, the fate of the Paramount-Skydance merger was in doubt.
content-related content disputes
The president has long attacked the news media, and CBS’s flagship news programs no exception.
In the final weeks of the 2024 presidential election, when Trump faced off against Kamala Harris, a Republican candidate, some of those tensions came to an end.
In the run-up to the election, the TV news magazine 60 Minutes had invited both Trump and Harris to speak. In addition, it had a tradition to interview each of the major party nominees for president.
Trump canceled his scheduled interview, despite Harris’ acceptance, according to 60 Minutes. Trump’s spokesperson, Steven Cheung, refuted that description.
Initial discussions were held, but nothing was ever scheduled or predetermined, Cheung wrote on social media. They also pressed for unprecedented live fact checking, which they did.
When 60 Minutes aired two different cuts of its interview with Harris, the conflict grew even more heated.
More of Harris’ response to her criticism of Israel was featured in one version that aired on a sister program, Face The Nation. The 60 Minutes broadcast’s other version was shorter.
Trump sued Paramount, the parent company of CBS, and called the various edits false reporting practices.
His court filing claimed that CBS used its national platform on 60 Minutes to defer to deceptive, deceptive news manipulation.
In a statement posted on the website of 60 Minutes, the company responded, “That is false.
We make an effort to be concise, accurate, and on point when editing any interview, whether it’s for a politician, athlete, or movie star. Because of her succinct response on 60 Minutes, which has a wide-ranging 21-minute long segment, time can be dedicated to other topics.
Paramount sought to put an end to the dispute instead of assuming victory on the merits, according to many media experts. It made a payment of $ 16 million to Trump earlier this month to fund his upcoming presidential library.
Another top CBS program, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, was abruptly cancelled, allegedly for financial reasons.
Given Colbert’s frequent criticizing of the Republican president on his show, speculation that the cancellation might have been an attempt to appease Trump and streamline the merger was fueled by the timing and unanticipated nature of the cancellation.
Trump stated on Truth Social that “I absolutely love that Colbert was fired.” Even his ratings for talent were subpar.
The Late Show consistently received the highest ratings for late-night comedy, and it’s been nominated for several Emmys and Peabody Awards.
Days later, on July 22, Trump made the demand that more comedians be fired, saying, “I hope I played a major part in it. “
He confirmed that the “new owners” would pay him $ 16 million for his 60 Minutes settlement, adding that he anticipated receiving an additional $ 20 million in free advertising and programming that day.
TV series South Park takes aim
The FCC approved the merger of Paramount and Skydance within weeks of the 60 Minutes lawsuit settlement and The Late Show’s cancellation.
Operations will be led by Skydance founder David Ellison, the son of Oracle Corporation CEO Larry Ellison.
Following the merger’s approval, Brendan Carr, Trump’s appointee to lead the FCC, released a statement that echoed some of the president’s criticisms of major news outlets.
He also made hints that CBS’s news output would change as a result of the merger.
He wrote that “Americans no longer trust the outdated national news media to produce accurate, factual reports.” It’s time for a change, they say. I applaud Skydance’s commitment to alter the once-storied CBS broadcasting network in a significant way.
Skydance has made written commitments to make sure the programming for the new company reflects the diverse viewpoints of both political and ideological viewpoints.
Carr stated that the media giant would have an ombudsman appointed for at least two years to ensure that they would follow that promise.
Carr added that regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, or ability, the new mega-company would not be able to implement diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies due to the merger between Skydance and Paramount.
However, the merger did not end Trump’s surveillance of Paramount platforms.
The TV station Comedy Central broadcast an episode of the animated series South Park that mocked President Trump and satirized its parent company’s $ 16 million settlement hours after the FCC’s approval was given.
An animated Jesus makes an effort to warn Trump’s characters in a scene.
“Now that someone has backed down, OK, the guy can do whatever he wants.” Jesus’ animated statement. You guys witnessed what transpired at CBS, right? Yes, I suppose, but who is CBS’s owner? ! You really want to “become Colbert’s persona”?
