LightShed companion Wealthy Greenfield analyzes the Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros deal on ‘The Claman Countdown.’
Three Democratic senators have urged the Federal Communications Fee (FCC) to place the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger on pause over issues about overseas buyers controlling what could be one of many largest media firms in the US.
In a joint letter to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, Sens. Cory Booker, D- N.J., Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., demanded he “should foreclose any try by Paramount to shut this transaction” earlier than an sufficient evaluation of the concerned overseas buyers is accomplished.
The lawmakers mentioned the FCC should conduct this evaluation to judge attainable “nationwide safety threats posed by overseas authorities funding” within the $110 billion entity. If authorised, the merger would deliver CNN and CBS Information beneath one company proprietor, additional consolidating the information media panorama.
Paramount, led by CEO David Ellison, acknowledged in an April monetary disclosure cited by the senators that overseas possession within the new company will rise to “roughly 49.5 %.” In that doc, Paramount additionally mentioned that each one voting rights will probably be “managed by the Ellison household by means of U.S. entities.”
WARNER BROS DISCOVERY SHAREHOLDERS APPROVE PARAMOUNT SKYDANCE DEAL
U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., speaks on the thirty eighth Annual Michigan Democratic Ladies’s Caucus Legacy Luncheon on April 18, 2026, in Detroit, Michigan. (Invoice Pugliano/Getty Photos / Getty Photos)
The doc revealed that Saudi Arabia’s public funding fund and numerous entities primarily based within the United Arab Emirates and Qatar could be fairness holders.
Paramount advised the FCC in April that this association wouldn’t current “any nationwide safety, regulation enforcement, or overseas or commerce coverage issues.”
The senators desire a extra rigorous verify of what this degree of overseas possession would imply, telling Carr of their letter that he mustn’t take the Ellison household’s statements “at face worth.”
They argued that the FCC ought to reject Paramount’s petition for preemptive approval. Underneath Part 310 of the 1934 Communications Act, overseas people, firms and governments are typically prohibited from proudly owning greater than 25% of a U.S.-based agency that has an FCC-issued broadcast license.
The Paramount Studios register Los Angeles, California, on April 23, 2026. (Noah Suave / Getty Photos)
Booker, Schiff and Warren gave Carr a July 1 deadline to inform Paramount that the deal can not shut till the overseas funding evaluation is accomplished.
The FCC’s pending approval is the most important regulatory hurdle in the best way of the merger. The Division of Justice signaled final week it will not problem Paramount’s bid to accumulate Warner Bros.
The DOJ’s antitrust division concluded after an eight-month evaluation that “the transaction just isn’t prone to lead to hurt to competitors or American shoppers” with regard to on-demand streaming, linear tv and studio growth, and the manufacturing and distribution of movies.
Warren criticized this determination by the DOJ and urged state attorneys basic to proceed preventing the transaction. California Legal professional Common Rob Bonta was already main a coalition of states in getting ready a lawsuit to dam Paramount from including Warner Bros. to its rising portfolio.
Federal Communications Fee Chairman Brendan Carr speaks onstage through the 2025 Concordia Annual Summit on the Sheraton New York Instances Sq. in New York Metropolis on Sept. 22, 2025. (John Lamparski/Getty Photos for Concordia Annual Summit / Getty Photos)
Greater than 5,000 filmmakers and actors working in Hollywood signed an open letter in April furiously demanding that the merger be stopped. They argued that it will stifle competitors and cut back job alternatives.
“Our trade is already beneath extreme pressure, largely as a result of prior waves of consolidation. We’ve witnessed a steep decline within the variety of movies produced and launched,” in keeping with the petition. “We’re deeply involved by indications of assist for this merger that prioritize the pursuits of a small group of highly effective stakeholders over the broader public good.”
