Paramount Global and Skydance Media are nearing the finish line of their $8 billion merger. But after months of twists and turns, there’s yet another hurdle standing in the way of controlling shareholder Shari Redstone passing off her family’s empire to David Ellison: Donald Trump’s new Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr.
The Skydance deal, which is subject to approval by the FCC due to a required transfer of broadcast licenses of Paramount’s 28 owned-and-operated local TV stations, is currently on track to close in the first half of 2025. But Carr, a Trump loyalist, has put increased scrutiny on Paramount-owned CBS by reviving a previously dismissed “news distortion” complaint to the FCC against the network from The Center for American Rights — a self-described “nonpartisan public interest law firm” — over a “60 Minutes” interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris.