NY POST: Why the FCC probe into Paramount-Skydance merger could drag on for months
The Federal Communications Commission may not approve the $8 billion merger between independent studio Skydance and Shari Redstone’s Paramount Global until possibly the second half of the year, On The Money has learned.
The commission gave an indication of the longer-than-expected timetable last week during a meeting with officials from the Center for American Rights, the conservative group that filed a complaint claiming the decaying media company’s left-leaning CBS News subsidiary violated the agency’s “public interest” rules, according to people at the sit-down.
The upshot of the meeting, the sources said, is that the FCC’s inquiry could grind on for months to determine what types of so-called remedies might be necessary to gain the agency’s blessing before it signs off on the deal.
Daniel Suhr, president of the Center for American Rights, left, filed a complaint claiming Paramount’s left-leaning CBS News subsidiary violated the agency’s “public interest” rules. FCC chief Brendan Carr is probing the deal. Jack Forbes / NY Post Design
“The commission indicated to us that they are in no rush to push this through and will fully investigate our claims,” Daniel Suhr, president of the Center for American Rights (CAR), told On The Money.
Last month, the FCC launched its inquiry into alleged deceptive editing of the controversial Kamala Harris “60 Minutes” interview — a probe that could throttle the Paramount-Skydance deal.
Agency officials have since been reviewing filings made by CAR and CBS News, and talking to people on both sides.