Donald Trump isn’t even within the Oval Workplace however the folks he has chosen to run his regulatory equipment are promising large modifications for deal-making, some good — on steadiness extra accredited mergers than what was allowed by the Biden peeps — and a few not so good, On The Cash has discovered.
One deal that’s sure to get elevated scrutiny is unbiased studio Skydance’s $28 billion buy of Paramount, the massive however troubled studio and TV empire run by Shari Redstone.
That’s as a result of the Trump folks preserve speaking about determining methods to gradual stroll and even kill one of many largest media offers of the 12 months. The reason being the alleged lefty bias writ-large at one in all Paramount’s subsidiaries, CBS. The information community was as soon as thought of the gold normal of TV journalism, however more and more has been seen as a propaganda arm of the Democratic Social gathering.
That holds notably true for Trump supporters and individuals who will occupy key posts in his administration. They consider that “60 Minutes” edited the word-salad inclined Kamala Harris simply earlier than the Nov. 5 election to make her sound extra cogent. CBS continues to refuse to launch a full transcript of the interview, even after a clip of Harris’s bumbling rhetoric appeared in a preview of the phase.
One other instance includes the interior strain imposed on “CBS Mornings” anchor Tony Dokoupil after his robust questioning of far-left author Ta-Nehisi Coates, who penned a controversial screed that shockingly attacked Israel for its response to the brutal Oct. 7 bloodbath of harmless Jews by Hamas terrorists.
Now the Trump persons are demanding solutions and perhaps extra. Just a few weeks in the past, Brendan Carr, Trump’s nominee to chair the Federal Communications Fee, voiced his concern that CBS has violated elements of the executive code and its “public interest” clause. Telecom executives inform On The Cash that Carr continues to let it’s recognized that the FCC, which should approve such mergers, gained’t simply rubber stamp the transaction.
Carr may get some help internally to hamper no less than the timing of the merger, which is scheduled to shut subsequent 12 months, after the nomination of Gail Slater to go of the DOJ’s antitrust division. The longtime telecom lawyer and legislative assistant to VP-elect JD Vance when he was within the Senate is claimed to not be a buddy to large media, and he or she too may look to throw a monkey wrench into the transaction, sources mentioned.
Individuals at Skydance are apparently taking the threats severely and will probably convey of their large gun, and so they most likely have already got, On The Cash has heard. That might contain turning to the president-elect’s buddy and supporter Larry Ellison, the multi-billionaire Oracle founder and father of Skydance chief David Ellison.
My sources say the elder Ellison desires the deal to sail by way of the approval course of, so Skydance can get right down to the enterprise of turning round Paramount, severely hampered by twine slicing and declines in promoting, which pressured the controlling Redstone household to promote within the first place.
A Skydance rep had no remark; Carr and Slater couldn’t be reached for remark.
