A second 90-day extension on Paramount Global’s proposed sale to David Ellison’s Skydance automatically triggered today as per the deal agreement, leaving the parties and the FCC more time to nail things down. Approval by the Commission led by Brendan Carr is required to transfer CBS broadcast licenses to Skydance.
Any discussions will unfold against a presumably more favorable backdrop, that being a $16 million settlement announced last week between CBS and Donald Trump.
The status of any conversations between the FCC and Skydance couldn’t be ascertained. The current window to close the deal runs through early October. Paramount and Skydance announced their long-gestating merger agreement after six months of back and forth exactly a year ago – on July 7, 2024.
The President sued the network and 60 Minutes for $20 billion last fall alleging the newsmagazine edited its presentation of an interview with Kamala Harris to make the then-Democratic candidate sound better. Allegations, filed in court in Amarillo, Texas, shifted after Trump won to rest on a more convoluted, commercial argument. CBS has always denied all allegations and Trump’s case wasn’t considered strong.
Paramount’s controlling shareholder Shari Redstone was said to be eager to resolve the suit and move forward with the sale of her family’s controlling stake in Paramount. A handful of politicians and interest groups had threatened to sue Redstone for violating anti-bribery statutes if Par agreed to a settlement.
The settlement includes a donation for Trump’s presidential library and covers his legal expenses. It does not include an expression of regret or apology.
Paramount co-CEO George Cheeks told shareholders that settlements are not uncommon to avoid unpredictable legal costs, the risk of an adverse judgment that could result in financial and reputational damage and the disruption to business operations that prolonged legal battles can cause.
The settlement with Trump “offers a negotiated resolution that allows companies to focus on their core objectives rather than being mired in uncertainty and distraction,” he said at Paramount’s virtual annual meeting last Wednesday.
While the lawsuit concerned Paramount/CBS, any ongoing merger talks at the FCC level would now mostly involve David Ellison and Skydance, which would become the owner of the broadcast licenses in a deal.
In December, Disney/ABC News settled a defamation suit by Trump for $15 million, including a contribution to his library, legal costs and an expression of regret over anchor George Stephanopoulos’ inaccurate on-air assertion that the president-elect had been found civilly liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll. Trump was found liable of sexually abusing and defaming Carroll.
