Washington DC - The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday approved the hugely controversial sale of Paramount to producer and Donald Trump ally David Ellison's production company Skydance for $8 billion.

The regulator, which had to sign off on the deal due to Paramount's ownership of CBS, approved the acquisition despite earlier political headwinds.

These included a lawsuit by President Donald Trump accusing CBS's 60 Minutes of unfair editing in an interview with then-vice president Kamala Harris. The Republican claimed that the program's standard editing procedures amounted to an at attempt to conceal a weak answer from his then-election opponent.

CBS denied the claim, released a full transcript, but eventually reached a $16 million settlement with Trump, widely criticized as a move to smooth the path for the Paramount sale. That impression was deepened by the network's abrupt decision to cancel The Late Show with Stephen Colbert – one of Trump's loudest and most prominent critics.

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Under Trump's second term, the FCC, traditionally a neutral regulator, has been used to advance his priorities and ideological preferences. Mergers in the telecom sector were reportedly approved only after companies dropped diversity and inclusion programs, which FCC chairman Brendan Carr — a Trump appointee — called discriminatory.

The FCC said the new Paramount will not maintain any DEI policies and will instead appoint an internal "ombudsman" to review claims of political bias for two years.

"Americans no longer trust the legacy national news media to report fully, accurately, and fairly. It is time for a change." Carr said.

David Ellison's father, Larry Ellison – a Trump ally and tech billionaire – is a key financier behind the acquisition.