Skydance Promises Trump FCC It Will Eliminate DEI Programs in Desperate Bid for Paramount Merger: Report

The Paramount office building is seen in Times Square, Manhattan, New York City. (Photo by Jimin Kim / SOPA Images/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images)

Skydance has promised to put an end to all diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives to get the Trump administration’s approval on its merger with Paramount.

Last June, it was announced that Skydance planned to acquire CBS’s parent company. The value of the deal at the time was estimated to be around $8 billion. Approval from the Federal Communications Commission is needed to complete the merge.

Since President Donald Trump took office, Paramount has made a number of concessions to his administration — concessions that some believed were fueled by the desire to see the merger go through. In response to his lawsuit against CBS over the editing of a 60 Minutes interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris, Paramount settled for $16 million. A month later, CBS announced the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Though the company maintained it was a financial decision, critics of the move have pointed out that Colbert frequently went after Trump on the show — much to the president’s chagrin.

According to a Wednesday report from The Hollywood Reporter, Skydance has assured the administration that DEI programs will also get axed as part of the acquisition. The report continued:

Skydance has told the Federal Communications Commission that once its acquisition of Paramount Global is complete, it will initiate a “comprehensive review” of CBS to ensure that the network is operating in the public interest, and that it will hire an ombudsman that will report directly to the president of CBS News “who will receive and evaluate any complaints of bias or other concerns” at the news division.

The ombudsman role will be guaranteed for at least two years, with CBS News leadership committing to “carefully review” any complaints.

Skydance also committed to eliminating all diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives (DEI) at the company, writing in a letter that, “The company is committed to ensuring that its storytelling reflects the many audiences and communities it serves in a manner that complies with non-discrimination requirements and other applicable laws.”