The FCC's approval, which was necessary for the deal to move forward, caps a long-running corporate saga over the fate of Paramount, which owns Paramount+, the Paramount Pictures movie and television studios, the CBS television network and CBS News and Stations. Paramount also owns Nickelodeon, BET, MTV, Comedy Central and other media brands.

Skydance Media has made additional promises to the FCC in an effort to get approval for its $8 billion merger with Paramount Global.

Hours after announcing the approval of Skydance’s merger with Paramount, FCC chairman Brendan Carr touted the company’s commitment to “addressing bias & restoring fact-based reporting” at CBS News, among other things.

The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday gave the green light to the $8.4 billion merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media – finally clearing the way for a deal that had been throttled by allegations of bias against CBS News.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said Thursday he was “pleased” with commitments from Skydance Media to reform CBS, as the agency nears a decision on the $8 billion Paramount merger. Skydance submitted a letter this week pledging to hire an ombudsman to address complaints of media bias and to present “a diversity of viewpoints” on CBS

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr praised Skydance Media’s commitment to hire an ombudsman for CBS News after it completes its merger with Paramount Global. The commitment was outlined in a filing with the FCC this week.