The United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently approved the merger between Paramount Global and Skydance, clearing the way for a US$8.4 billion sale of the most prominent names in entertainment, including the CBS broadcast television network, Paramount Pictures, and the Nickelodeon cable channel.
This comes after Paramount paid US$16 million to settle a lawsuit filed by U.S. President Donald Trump over a 60 Minutes interview with former vice-president Kamala Harris that aired in October.
FCC chair, Brendan Carr, who was hand-picked by Trump to lead the FCC, said the agency’s review of the proposed merger was not connected to the civil suit.
However, the scepticism has been met with criticism after Paramount Global, which owns CBS, cancelled The Late Show With Stephen Colbert just days after its host was criticised for calling Paramount’s settlement with Trump “a big, fat bribe”.
In response to the merger, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren called for an investigation into Paramount’s relationship with Trump.
“The shady circumstances of the $8 billion Paramount/Skydance merger have let every other billionaire & company know that Trump is open for business — apparently happy to accept offers for favors,” she posted to X.
The deal was even mocked on South Park this week, which airs on Paramount+.
The South Park episode depicted Donald Trump in bed with Sata, with a thinly-veiled criticism of the company for settling with Trump and cancelling The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. It ended by ridiculing reports that its new owners had agreed to give Trump a US$20 million public service announcement and free advertising.
Significant layoffs are also expected to be made as part of the merger, as Skydance and its backers said they expected to achieve US$2 billion in cost savings.
This would be after Paramount Global made a 15% layoff across its U.S. operations last year and let go of another 3.5% last month.
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