Paramount-Skydance merger gets final approval to move forward

The controversial mega-merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media has cleared the last major approval it needed to move forward. 

The FCC approved transferring Paramount’s TV station licenses to Skydance, the last key regulatory issue the deal faced. Word of the OK began surfacing around 6 p.m. eastern on July 24, 2025, with the deal expected to close on August 7, 2025.

The merger has been the center of multiple controversies, including several suggestions that Donald Trump and his administration extracted concessions from the companies to facilitate the deal, though there is no direct evidence to back these claims up. 

Ahead of the approval, CBS agreed to pay $16 million to settle a suit brought by Trump over what he called alleged “news distortion” connected to how an October 2024 interview with his rival, Kamala Harris, was edited — despite multiple legal experts saying the suit was without merit.

Trump directed FCC head Brendan Carr to investigate CBS News’s issue, even though the commission technically only has direct control over TV station licenses. 

Less than a week before the approval ultimately came, CBS also announced it was canceling “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” saying the show was losing money — an assertion that has been disputed. No specific evidence has been revealed that would confirm or refute the network’s claim.

Many, however, posited that CBS opted to make the upcoming season of “The Late Show” its last because its host, Stephen Colbert, is frequently critical of Trump. Again, there has been no specific evidence to support specific claims regarding the reasons behind the cancellation decision.

Trump also made claims, which have not been confirmed by Skydance or Paramount, that CBS would be donating millions of dollars’ worth of commercial time to air PSAs aligned with causes and issues Trump supports.

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These issues weren’t the only bumps the deal faced.

Multiple rounds of talks between the two companies were called off before eventually resuming. Other moguls and media companies also attempted to strike a deal with Paramount during the periods in between talks with Skydance. 

Paramount, which is held by National Amusements, has been up for sale since Shari Redstone, the daughter of that company’s founder Sumner Redstone, began in late 2023. Shari Redstone controls key portions of the stock. 

Ultimately, the deal was signed, valued at around $8 billion. 

Looking forward, the new “Paradance” (or “Skyamount”?) is likely to face significant cost-cutting under its new leadership, which critics of the deal have said could harm the news products CBS and its local stations produce. Supporters argue that media companies need to define new rules and strategies to remain efficient and deliver value to shareholders. 

The logo shown above was shown during an investor event in July 2024 and may not reflect the new company’s final look.