Paramount Global CEO lands in the middle of critical DC battle
Under normal circumstances, facilitating a mega merger between two established media companies would be a tall task.
While the Federal Communications Commission has been more lenient with mergers recently — Warner Bros.’ successful merger with Discovery and Disney’s successful purchase of 21st Century Fox are recent examples — the regulatory process is grueling and can take months.
However, these aren’t regular times in Washington.
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President Donald Trump welcomed the world’s billionaires to St. John’s Church in Washington, D.C., before his inauguration speech on January 20.
The usual suspects, such as unofficial White House cabinet member and Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Republican mega donor and casino magnate Miriam Adelson, were there, according to Reuters.
But so were Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, tech billionaires who both had been extremely critical of Trump in the recent past. Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, and the Arnault Family that runs the LVMH luxury house were just some of the star-studded guests who attended Trump’s inauguration.
Many of those names backed Trump’s predecessor, both financially and politically. Now that the economic mega-ship of America has a new captain, those billionaires are saluting the new leader, since he appoints the people who will regulate their companies.
But Washington, D.C., is so fraught with political pitfalls that getting on Trump’s good side could easily land you in hot water with other powerful people.
Paramount Global (PARA) chairwoman Shari Redstone is finding this out now.
Image source: Sangiuliano/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Shari Redstone gets a letter from Washington
Three U.S. Democratic Senators sent a letter to Paramount Global saying they are concerned that the parent company of television broadcaster CBS may be engaging in improper conduct involving the Trump Administration in exchange for approval of its merger with Skydance Media.
Democrat Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) sent a letter to Redstone, according to the Wall Street Journal, questioning whether the company could be violating federal bribery laws as it dances with the president.
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Trump, whose love-hate relationship with the media long predates his presidency, is currently suing CBS News for $20 billion for editing an interview with Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris ahead of their clash in November.
Trump says “60 Minutes” edited her answer to a question about Gaza to make her look better.
Many, such as “Last Week Tonight” host John Oliver, have called the lawsuit frivolous, an attack on free speech, and the president attacking what he considers a political enemy.
But complicating matters is the fact that Paramount Global is seeking regulatory approval for its $8 billion merger with Hollywood movie studio Skydance Media.
A spokesperson told the Journal that Redstone has not seen the letter from the senators and has recused herself from the settlement talks between Trump and CBS representatives.
CBS’ future hangs in the balance
While Paramount believes this merger with Skydance is necessary for its survival, the FCC, which will rule on the merger, is investigating its flagship news program.
FCC chair Brendan Carr recently told CNBC that the FCC is investigating the network for so-called “news distortion” in the editing of the interview.
Carr has also called out NBC for “misleading the American public” because they referred to a man deported to an El Salvadorian super prison as a “Maryland man.“
Here, he also used the term “news distortion“ to call out NBC’s parent company, Comcast.
“Comcast knows that federal law requires its licensed operations to serve the public interest. News distortion doesn’t cut it,“ Carr tweeted.
However, Carr has emphasized that his investigation into “60 Minutes” is entirely separate from overseeing the CBS merger.
But now with the letter from the senators also coming to light, Paramount Global is facing immense pressure from both sides of the aisle.
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