Skydance Rival Says Paramount Deal Raises Content and China Concerns

A consortium seeking to buy Paramount Global is raising red flags regarding rival Skydance Media's proposed Paramount deal. In a docket 24-275 filing posted Thursday, Project Rise Partners (PRP) said the FCC should examine the risks that the Skydance/Paramount deal raises about perpetuating practices of bundling networks in a way that inhibits the creation of programming content and about the influence of the Chinese government over one of the major national broadcast networks. The FCC also should consider the dangers the Skydance deal raises of higher consumer prices and undermined integrity of broadcast news, PRP said. It said it wants to create "a greenhouse for new content, including conservative, progressive, niche voices, and unrestrained freedom of expression" and "is intent on modernizing, diversifying, and expanding brands like BET, MTV, Nickelodeon, and Showtime rather than eliminating them." Pointing to Chinese company Tencent Holdings' investment in Skydance, PRP said the FCC should look into how Tencent is operating in the U.S. directly or indirectly, adding that Tencent could be operating through Skydance. House China Committee Chairman John Moolenaar, R-Mich., has called for a Committee on Foreign Investment investigation of the Skydance deal because of Tencent's investment (see 2501160055). The co-chairs of PRP are Daphna Edwards Ziman, head of independent network Cinemoi, and Moses Gross, managing trustee of Malka Investment Trust.