Group files FCC protest regarding merger of Paramount, Skydance
Group files FCC protest regarding merger of Paramount, Skydance
The Center for American Rights has some concerns about the combination of the two media companies.
At this point, Jan. 13, 2025 can’t come fast enough for Paramount Global and Skydance Media. That’s the date when the period for public comments and objections to the merger of the two companies closes, and so far the outside feedback received by the firms has been mostly negative. Now, the merger faces a new hurdle, as a public interest firm called the Center for American Rights (CAR) has filed a protest with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding the transaction.
Key Details:
- The Center for American Rights has concerns about the investment of a Chinese media company.
- The group also says CBS has a history of infusing political bias into its news division.
- It wants the FCC to get assurances from Paramount and Skydance that these issues won’t be a problem going forward.
There are two areas of concern at the heart of the protest from the Center of American Rights are two issues. First, the company believes that Skydance’s investment in the Chinese media company Tencent Holdings Ltd. could raise questions about foreign influence in the American media.
Next, the group says that CBS has a “troubling track record of ideological bias and news manipulation.” The CAR bills itself as a non-partisan group, but says that coverage of Democratic candidates was much more favorable on CBS during the last election cycle, pointing to the editing of a “60 Minutes” interview with Vice President Kamala Harris as proof.
The CAR is hoping that the FCC will try to extract commitments from Paramount and Skydance that foreign influence will not be an issue when the two companies merge, and that its hiring practices will be more diverse going forward so as to promote a wider variety of views on the air.
Oncoming Republican FCC commissioner Brendan Carr shares the group’s concerns and could slow down approval of the merger by the governmental body. Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Matthew Schettenhelm says that there’s no limit to how much Carr can use his platform as a commissioner to try and score political points off the transaction.
“The law puts virtually no guardrails on how long the FCC can take to review changes in control of broadcast licenses,” Schettenhelm says.
Paramount and Skydance are hoping to have the deal closed by May, but have already faced other significant challenges. Seagram liquor heir and former Warner Music chair Edgar Bronfman Jr. tried to swoop in with a bid for Paramount at the last minute once Skydance had seemingly sealed the deal, but eventually abandoned his attempts when he could not secure the proper financing.
The two companies first announced that they had come to an agreement on merger terms in July. Now, they’re going to have to get themselves ready for stern questions by Carr and other FCC commissioners about the CAR’s concerns before they can finish combining.
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