David Ellison, an actor-turned-producer and son of centibillionaire Larry Ellison, will helm Paramount after its merger with his Skydance media company is complete.

The cable business has cratered. The news division is in turmoil. A.I. is coming for movies. And those are just the obvious challenges.

In meeting with FCC officials, Skydance's David Ellison promised that CBS's "editorial decision-making reflects the varied ideological perspectives of American viewers."

Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Ron Wyden also question whether Skydance was involved in discussions to cancel The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

David Ellison met this week with Brendan Carr and FCC staffers to discuss the Paramount Global merger which is still under agency review.

McCarthy became co-CEO of Paramount, alongside George Cheeks and Brian Robbins, in April 2024. The trio took on the role after the ouster of Bob Bakish as the company was in its first round of negotiations with Skydance. McCarthy is also president of Showtime/MTV Entertainment and oversees the company’s streaming platforms Paramount+ and Pluto TV.

The chairman of the FCC says the merger will ‘enable CBS to operate in the public interest and focus on fair, unbiased, and fact-based coverage.’

Shares of Paramount are set to open higher Friday after long-awaited FCC approval for its merger erased a big question mark hovering over the company's future, but amid ongoing uncertainty about its strategic plans under Skydance Media.