Skydance Media CEO David Ellison met with FCC Chairman Brendan Carr and different company staffers this week to debate the pending regulatory choice on the corporate’s merger with Paramount International, the place subjects included information protection.
In line with a submitting with the FCC, Ellison and his authorized counsel, Matthew A. Brill, met Tuesday with the FCC officers, they usually “mentioned Skydance’s dedication to unbiased journalism and its embrace of numerous viewpoints, ideas that can guarantee CBS’s editorial decision-making displays the various ideological views of American viewers.”
In line with the submitting, Ellison and Brill “defined the Ellison household and RedBird characterize recent management with the imaginative and prescient and expertise wanted to drive New Paramount’s long-term progress within the face of the challenges offered by in the present day’s media panorama, all whereas preserving and enhancing the legacy and broad attain of each the nationwide CBS tv community and the corporate’s 28 owned-and-operated native tv stations.”
The submitting additionally said Ellison and Brill mentioned with Carr their firm’s “dedication to selling non-discrimination and equal employment alternative at New Paramount, making certain the corporate is totally compliant with regulation.” One in all Carr’s chief considerations has been company “variety, fairness and inclusion” initiatives that he has characterised as “invidious discrimination.” He has advised that firms that keep DEI insurance policies would have issue securing regulatory approval.
Critics of the proposed merger even have been assembly with FCC officers. That features Venture Rise Companions, an funding group that had sought to make a rival bid for Paramount International after the top of the 45-day “go-shop” interval final summer time. Amongst different issues, Venture Rise had raised considerations about China’s Tencent’s proposed possession curiosity within the Skydance deal.
In line with the Skydance submitting, Ellison and Brill “refuted faulty claims relating to Chinese language affect on RedBird and New Paramount and reiterated that Tencent will maintain solely a non-voting, passive curiosity in New Paramount of lower than 5 p.c (within the type of publicly traded shares it might be free to buy on the Nasdaq), in accordance it no governance or informational rights and due to this fact no capability to affect the operation of New Paramount.”
The FCC is on day 245 of its overview of the transaction. The company units a 180 day timeline for evaluations, however it’s not certain by it.
Earlier this month, Paramount International introduced a settlement with Donald Trump of his $20 billion lawsuit in opposition to CBS over the way in which that 60 Minutes edited its interview with Kamala Harris. Paramount stated that the settlement was not related to the FCC merger overview.
However Carr has stated {that a} criticism that was filed with the FCC concerning the 60 Minutes interview was “prone to come up” within the context of the merger overview. The group that filed the criticism, the Middle for American Rights, has additionally met with FCC officers, elevating points about alleged information bias, together with latest feedback made in a graduation deal with by 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley.
Carr has not given any indication of when the FCC overview will likely be accomplished. An FCC spokesperson didn’t instantly return a request for remark.
Anna Gomez, the only Democrat on the FCC, has urged that every one commissioners weigh in on the merger, not simply the FCC’s media bureau.