Officials at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have engaged with executives at Paramount Global on various remedies that will need to be implemented before the company is able to move forward with its proposed merger with Skydance Media, according to a report.
On Thursday, the Wall Street Journal said conversations between FCC officials and Paramount executives involve the media company’s diversity and equity initiatives, which FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has scrutinized in matters involving other broadcasters, including the Walt Disney Company (ABC) and Comcast (NBC Universal).
Another matter involves an ongoing investigation into Paramount-owned local TV station WCBS (Channel 2) over allegations of news distortion, which Carr unilaterally reopened in January after his predecessor, Jessica Rosenworcel, declared it to be politically-motivated and closed it without further action.
The news distortion complaint has little to do with the operation of WCBS; instead, it focuses on an interview aired on “60 Minutes” involving former Vice President Kamala Harris in the days leading up to the 2024 Presidential Election. A segment of the interview was edited for time and clarity, but a fuller clip aired earlier in the day on the CBS program “Face the Nation,” which invited the challenge.
WCBS was one of nearly 200 CBS stations and affiliates to air the program. The station is also one of nearly two dozen local TV stations owned by Paramount, meaning it shares common ownership with CBS, even though its editorial operation is separate from that of CBS News and 60 Minutes.
The Paramount-Skydance merger has cleared other regulatory hurdles. But part of the transaction involves the transfer of Paramount’s local TV broadcast licenses to Skydance, which the FCC must approve.
CBS, as a broadcast network, is not subject to the FCC’s rules, but local stations owned by CBS are, because they are licensed by the federal agency.
The FCC review of the transaction comes at the same time that Paramount is working to resolve an ongoing civil lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump over the same 60 Minutes segment. The network has fought the case in court, alleging Trump engaged in forum-shopping when he settled on a district in Texas to file the lawsuit and that the First Amendment provides an affirmative defense from his news distortion claims.
Shari Redstone, whose National Amusements owns a controlling stake in Paramount stock and who stands to financially benefit from the Skydance transaction, has advocated for Paramount and CBS to settle the lawsuit with Trump. That advocacy resulted in long-time 60 Minutes Executive Producer Bill Owens to resign earlier this week, after he complained that the program and CBS News had lost much of its editorial independence.
