Skydance CEO Assures FCC's Carr of Diverse Viewpoints, Limited Chinese Involvement
Skydance Media is committed to unbiased journalism and diverse viewpoints, which "will ensure CBS’s editorial decision-making reflects the varied ideological perspectives of American viewers," CEO David Ellison promised FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, according to docket 24-275 filed Friday. Recapping their meeting, Skydance said it's also committed "to promoting non-discrimination and equal employment opportunity at New Paramount, ensuring the company is fully compliant with law." That seemingly refers to Carr's pledge that the agency will block mergers based on companies' diversity, equity and inclusion practices (see 2503210049).
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Pointing to criticisms of Chinese company Tencent Holdings' investment in Skydance (see 2503060035), Ellison told Carr that Tencent will possess a non-voting, passive interest in New Paramount of less than 5% and won't have any governance or informational rights. Skydance "made clear that Mr. Ellison will lead New Paramount with a talented team of executives focused on American storytelling."
Brookings Institution nonresident senior fellow Blair Levin wrote Monday that merger reviews under President Donald Trump's administration involve "a Trump transaction tax" -- a cost for a transaction approval outside the normal parameters of competition or public interest analysis -- and "a Trump transaction trap" -- blowback from paying the tax. Paramount Global agreeing to pay Trump $16 million to settle his lawsuit over the editing of a 60 Minutes interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris during the election (see 2507020053) could lead to shareholder derivative suits and bribery allegations against the company, Levin said.
In addition, CBS' canceling of a late-night talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, who has criticized Trump (see 2507180058), could mean increased CBS costs "to secure talent that will have concerns about the willingness of management to withstand any controversy about a program," Levin said. "While CBS insists that ending the show was purely a financial decision, we are skeptical that Hollywood talent will believe that." Trump-era merger reviews seem less based on free markets and more on "a fealty to the market for Trump’s affections. And that creates a pain point for both investors and management," he added.