Chair Brendan Carr said in announcing the approval that Skydance had agreed to address Trump administration concerns about what it sees as media bias at the CBS network. Skydance committed to adopt measures to “root out” media bias that had undermined trust in the news media, Carr said.

“I welcome Skydance’s commitment to make significant changes at the once storied CBS broadcast network,” Carr said. “In particular, Skydance has made written commitments to ensure that the new company’s programming embodies a diversity of viewpoints from across the political and ideological spectrum.”

Carr put the deal to a vote among the agency’s commissioners rather than allow bureau staff to decide it on delegated authority. It was approved 2-1, with his fellow Republican Commissioner Olivia Trusty voting in favor and Democratic Commissioner Anna Gomez dissenting.

“I cannot support this order approving this transaction in light of the payout and other troubling concessions Paramount made to settle a baseless lawsuit,” Gomez wrote in her dissent. “After months of cowardly capitulation to this Administration, Paramount finally got what it wanted. Unfortunately, it is the American public who will ultimately pay the price for its actions.”

While most legal experts considered the lawsuit baseless and easily winnable by CBS, the specter of the government blocking the sale forced Paramount to the negotiating table. After months of talks, Paramount agreed to pay a $16 million settlement to Trump earlier this month. Following the settlement, Trump stated publicly that he had also extracted concessions from Skydance to the tune of $20 million in public-service ads for issues Trump backs.

Last Friday, Paramount announced the cancellation of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" as of next May, stating it was "purely a financial decision." But many media watchers questioned whether cancelling the No. 1 rated late-night show may also have been driven by politics. Colbert routinely skewers Trump on air and had called the settlement reached by Paramount a "big fat bribe," just days before.

Trump hailed the decision to end the show. "I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
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In its statement, the FCC said Skydance had also agreed to end all diversity programs at Paramount, which Carr deemed "invidious" and a form of discrimination.