Democratic Sens. Edward Markey and Ben Ray Luján have penned a letter to newly confirmed FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty urging her to support a full commission vote by the agency on the pending $8 billion Paramount-Skydance merger instead of through the delegated authority of its media bureau.
Many observers believe approval of the deal has been held up by President Donald Trump’s $20 billion lawsuit against CBS and “60 Minutes.” The parties recently agreed to settle that dispute for $16 million, though it did not include a statement of apology or regret from the network.
Markey and Luján argued the settlement has “cast a shadow” over the Skydance deal and that it “raises serious questions” about Paramount’s rationale and its implications for media independence. They added that the FCC owes the public a “transparent, deliberative process on such a high-profile and controversial issue.”
“For that reason, we urge you to insist that the FCC conduct its merger review with the utmost transparency, including holding a full Commission vote on any order to approve the merger,” they wrote. “The Commission cannot turn a blind eye to this context.”
The FCC, which is required to review the deal due to a transfer of broadcast licenses, typically makes decisions within an informal 180-day timeline, though that is not a strict deadline. The merger review for Paramount-Skydance is currently on day 238, per the FCC’s website.
Both Paramount and FCC chairman Brendan Carr have previously said that the lawsuit and settlement talks with Trump were unrelated to the agency’s review.
But Carr has warned that “all options remain on the table” in the agency’s separate, ongoing investigation into alleged “news distortion” related to the Kamala Harris interview, including potentially revoking CBS’s broadcast license if the network is found to have violated the agency’s public interest standard.
As part of that investigation, CBS agreed to turn over the video and transcript of the Harris interview, which was subsequently opened up to a public comment period that ended on March 24.
Representatives for the FCC did not immediately return TheWrap’s request for comment on the letter and merger review.
The FCC’s lone Democrat commissioner Anna Gomez, who has also called for a full commission vote on the Skydance deal, recently blasted Paramount’s settlement, calling it a “desperate move” to appease the administration and secure regulatory approval, adding that it sets a “dangerous precedent for the First Amendment.”
“For months, it has been clear that this lawsuit was entirely meritless, just like the complaint now before the Commission. The transcript and video of the ’60 Minutes’ interview with Vice President Harris show no evidence of wrongdoing, only the standard editorial judgments used across the news industry to ensure clarity and brevity,” Gomez said. “Had Paramount chosen to fight this in court, they would have prevailed on the facts and the law. But instead of standing on principle, Paramount opted for a payout. That decision now casts a long shadow over the integrity of the transaction pending before the FCC.”
She added that approving the transaction behind closed doors and “under the cover of bureaucratic process” would be a “shameful outcome that denies the American people the transparency and accountability they deserve, especially when press freedom is at stake.”
The Paramount-Skydance merger recently triggered its second automatic 90-day extension, which has pushed the final closing deadline to Oct. 6. If the deal is not closed by then, Paramount and Skydance would have the option to terminate the deal, which would not be subject to the agreement’s $400 million breakup fee.
