Skydance Media may finally get regulatory approval for its $8 billion deal to merge with Paramount Global, but the process could be a bit like 'Mission: Impossible' do not have.
That's the word from people close to the mega-deal, who say that under the terms of the merger approval, which is being discussed by the incoming Trump administration's Federal Communications Commission, Paramount's CBS network will receive a number of surprising and dramatic deals. It is possible that changes may be forced.
For viewers, some of them may be unmissable.
The operating principle here, as explained below, is an important principle to elucidate, but that CBS fully adheres to the standards set for U.S. broadcast licensees to be “neutral” news organizations. This means that something may be required.
Among other things, CBS could be forced to hand over the full transcript of its controversial “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris, according to people close to President Trump's transition team. Trump administration officials believe the interview shows the agency had dirty practices during the transition. 2024 Election.
But people familiar with the situation said the risks could be much broader than that. That means Skydance, the Hollywood movie studio best known for producing the recent “Mission: Impossible,” will be asked to prove to Team Trump that CBS will be an impartial arbiter of news. .
If that sounds like a far-fetched job, perfect for Tom Cruise's character Ethan Hunt, you'd be right.
That would mean, for example, that CBS would no longer tilt its news coverage toward Democrats, including how its anchors behave during presidential debates.
Trump officials have pointed to CBS vice president and debate moderators Margaret Brennan and Norah O'Donnell, who also appeared as Trump's vice president in his Oct. 1 showdown with Tim Walz. He was similarly criticized for showing bias by cutting and fact-checking statements made by presidential candidate J.D. Vance.
colbert softball
Meanwhile, CBS' left-handed “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert is not only biased in his commentary, he literally hosted a Democratic fundraiser at Radio City Music Hall and hosted Joe Biden, Bill Clinton, Barack… He asked Obama softball questions.
After President Trump's victory on November 5th, the next FCC Chairman, Brendan Carr, will emerge. He is well aware of all of the above and would like to see an end to this left-wing propaganda in exchange for Skydance receiving FCC approval. Unlike cable, fairness standards apply to traditional local television.
“Make no mistake about it, Brendan wants CBS to be a neutral news organization as required by its FCC license,” said a person familiar with Kerr's thinking.
“And that extends to Colbert. They'll call it comedy, but you can't use the public airwaves as an extension of the DNC.”
It may not hurt that Skydance is run by David Ellison. Mr. Ellison is bankrolled by his father, Larry, the co-founder of Oracle, whose net worth is listed by Forbes as $231 billion, and who also happens to be a major supporter of Mr. Trump.
Still, all this is far from the purpose of the talks before November 5th.
This contract was considered to be binding.
As I reported, the Biden-Harris administration has indicated that there is no problem for antitrust reasons.
Then things got a little weird. Once considered the gold standard for unbiased journalism, CBS has moved increasingly to the left, and Republicans believe that shift will reach epic proportions in the 2024 election.
First, after intense questioning of far-left writer Ta-Nehisi Coates, who wrote an article criticizing Israel's response to the brutal Hamas massacre on October 7, internal pressure was put on CBS Morning anchor Tony Dokoupil. Ta.
Then the “60 Minutes” episode began. The Trump campaign believes the show selectively edited an Oct. 7 interview with Kamala Harris, whose signature dish is “word salad,” to make her sound smarter.
Carr is a longtime telecommunications activist and commissioner who became famous for raising questions about the Chinese-owned short video app TikTok and whether the Chinese Communist Party uses the service for espionage.
Mr. Carr plans to use the FCC approval process to squeeze promises of neutrality out of them, according to people familiar with Mr. Carr. The approval process could take months and add additional costs to the Paramount acquisition, something the new owners want to avoid.
Larry called
Skydance executives say they are keeping everything under wraps because of Trump and Ellison's bromance. Lally has already called on President Trump to push for a deal.
But people close to Kerr say Larry Ellison and the Skydance team have no idea how much Trump knows about “Art of the Deal” and that Trump is trying to convince CBS and its anti-Trump He says he may not fully understand how much he hates prejudice.
President Trump may be willing to have it both ways, helping his friend Larry approve the Kerr deal, but that would mean that CBS “acknowledges left-wing bias and defends Democrats.” only after pledging to return to news reporting rather than the department.”
Mr. Kerr declined to comment. A Skydance spokesperson had no comment.
