Challenge to Merger of Paramount Global and Skydance Media

(Reuters) – The Center for American Rights, a non-profit public-interest law firm, has petitioned the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to challenge the planned $8.4 billion merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media, a filing showed on Tuesday.

Concerns have arisen over China's Tencent Holdings' investment in Skydance, raising issues of foreign influence on U.S. media, according to the Center for American Rights.

The firm also highlighted that Paramount's CBS News division "has a troubling track record of ideological bias and news manipulation," while the CBS Television division has shown "racial discrimination in hiring and promotion."

Paramount declined to comment, and Skydance did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

In July, David Ellison's Skydance struck a deal with Paramount to combine the two media houses, concluding months of discussion and speculation about the future of one of Hollywood's oldest studios. The merger is expected to close in the first half of 2025.

The deal would combine Paramount, which is home to classic films such as "Chinatown," "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," and "Breakfast at Tiffany's," with Skydance, a financial partner on several major films including "Top Gun: Maverick," "Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning," and "Star Trek Into Darkness."

Earlier this year, a Paramount investor sued to block the deal, claiming it would cost shareholders $1.65 billion.