Saudi Arabia · United Arab Emirates · FCC · Donald Trump · Ars Technica
FCC lets Paramount sell 49.5% equity stake to Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Qatar
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The Federal Communications Commission yesterday approved Paramount Skydance’s plan to sell large equity stakes to the sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.
Key facts
- The FCC last year allowed Paramount to buy Skydance for $8 billion after the company agreed to install an ombudsman at CBS
- Media advocacy group Free Press said in an FCC filing that “Paramount will begin its ownership of WBD with nearly $80 billion in debt, which will require deep cuts to Paramount’s pre-merger holdings
- Paramount obtained FCC approval to buy Skydance shortly after it reached a $16 million settlement with Trump in a lawsuit accusing CBS of deceptively editing a pre-election interview with Kamala
- The funds plan to invest $24 billion in the Paramount/Warner deal,” the Los Angeles Times wrote
Summary
Under US law, companies with licenses to run broadcast stations need FCC approval to have direct or indirect foreign ownership exceeding 25 percent of the company’s stock. Paramount, the owner of CBS, holds FCC licenses for the 28 local CBS stations that it owns and operates. The FCC is letting Paramount sell indirect ownership stakes to “some of the most repressive governments in the world,” FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, the only Democrat on the commission, said yesterday. The Paramount/Warner deal would combine two of the largest movie studios, merge streaming service Paramount+ with HBO Max, and give Paramount ownership of CNN and other TV channels.