Paramount, Skydance merger approved by FCC

Skydance is owned by David Ellison, the son of Larry Ellison, who founded US technology giant Oracle. It has since produced or co-produced hit films and TV shows, including Top Gun: Maverick and the Reacher streaming series. 

Skydance first announced its intention to take over Paramount, one of Hollywood's oldest studios, in 2024. Paramount’s film credits include The Godfather, Star Trek and the Mission: Impossible series. Paramount also owns streaming service Paramount+, as well as Paramount Pictures, CBS, Nickelodeon, BET, MTV, Comedy Central and other media brands.

Skydance CEO David Ellison is set to become chair and chief executive of the new Paramount. Jeff Shell, former chief executive of Comcast's NBCUniversal, will be its new president.

The approval came just weeks after Paramount Global agreed to pay $16m to settle a legal dispute with US President Donald Trump over an interview it broadcast on its subsidiary CBS with former Vice-President Kamala Harris.

FCC Head Brendan Carr, who was appointed by President Trump, announced the merger's approval, saying he welcomed Skydance's ideas to make "significant changes" at CBS.

The commission received pledges from Skydance that it would appoint an ombudsman to evaluate complaints of editorial bias or other concerns about CBS. Skydance also told the FCC it would not establish any diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, which Trump believes are discriminatory.