FCC approves Paramount-Skydance merger after CBS ombudsman and anti-DEI pledges
The Federal Communications Commission approved Paramount's sale to Skydance Media after Skydance agreed to install an ombudsman to review complaints of bias at CBS News for two years and pledged to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs, over the objection of the commission's sole Democratic member.123
- Country
- United States (RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180)
- Where
- United States
- Level of government
- National
- Tactic
- Funding and ownership pressure
- Stage
- Pressure (see the ladder)
- Head of government at the time
- Donald Trump
- Issue of the day
- The approval came weeks after Paramount paid $16 million to settle President Trump's lawsuit over 60 Minutes' editing of a Harris interview, a settlement critics said was made to smooth the path for the FCC's review of the Skydance sale.
- Outcome
- Sustained, July 24, 2025. The FCC approved the merger with the ombudsman and anti-DEI conditions in place; Commissioner Gomez's dissent did not change the outcome.
- Era
- The 2020s
What happened
On July 24, 2025, the Federal Communications Commission approved Paramount's sale to Skydance Media, a deal Chair Brendan Carr said came with written commitments to ensure a diversity of viewpoints across the company's news and entertainment programming. As part of the approval, Skydance agreed to hire a CBS News ombudsman to review complaints of editorial bias for at least two years and confirmed the company would not maintain diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Carr said Americans no longer trusted legacy news organizations to report fully, accurately and fairly. Commissioner Anna Gomez, the panel's sole Democrat, dissented, saying Paramount had made concessions she called excessive to settle a lawsuit she said lacked merit, as part of clearing the way for the merger.123
What reason was given
Carr said the commitments were needed because "Americans no longer trust the legacy national news media to report fully, accurately, and fairly."1
What changed for reporting
As a condition of a federal merger approval, CBS News agreed to an outside ombudsman reviewing complaints about its editorial content and to end its diversity programs, conditions a dissenting commissioner said were extracted through regulatory leverage over the sale.2
Timeline
2025
Who acted
| Name | Role in this incident | Office at the time |
|---|---|---|
| Brendan Carr | ordered | Chair, Federal Communications Commission |
| Federal Communications Commission | enforced | Independent federal regulatory agency |
Outlets and journalists
| Name | Kind | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| CBS News | outlet | affected |
Sources
Claims cited
- Carr said the public no longer trusted legacy news organizations to report fully, accurately and fairly.
Americans no longer trust the legacy national news media to report fully, accurately, and fairly.
FCC approves Paramount-Skydance merger, CBS News, 2025-07-24. Claim 383, checked 2026-09-22. - Skydance committed to hiring a CBS News ombudsman to review bias complaints for at least two years.
hire a CBS News ombudsman to review complaints of editorial bias for a period of at least two years.
FCC approves Paramount-Skydance merger, CBS News, 2025-07-24. Claim 384, checked 2026-09-22. - The FCC's sole Democratic commissioner objected to the concessions made to secure the merger's approval.
I cannot support this order approving this transaction in light of the payout and other troubling concessions Paramount made to settle a baseless lawsuit.
FCC approves Paramount-Skydance merger, CBS News, 2025-07-24. Claim 385, checked 2026-09-22.