Stubborn Silence From Skydance on Trump’s Claim It Agreed To Air $20 Million Worth of PSAs After Its Purchase of Paramount, CBS Is Complete

Skydance Media is steadfastly not commenting on President Trump’s statement that he anticipates it will air public service announcements friendly to conservatives, at a value of about $20 million, after it completes its acquisition of Paramount Global. Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social that his $20 billion lawsuit against CBS has formally been resolved, writing, “Paramount/CBS/60 Minutes have today paid $16 Million Dollars in settlement.”He added, “We also anticipate receiving $20 Million Dollars more from the new Owners, in Advertising, PSAs, or similar Programming, for a total of over $36 Million Dollars. This is another in a long line of VICTORIES over the Fake News Media, who we are holding to account for their widespread fraud and deceit.”The PSAs or other conservative-friendly programming would be a short-term band-aid to counteract deeply ingrained liberal bias at CBS News and at entertainment talk shows such as Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” and “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” The latter has been canceled but is not going off the air until late May.Skydance did not respond to the Sun’s request for comment by the time of publication. The post comes three weeks after Paramount announced a settlement in principle to pay $16 million to end Mr. Trump’s lawsuit over Vice President Harris’s October 2024 interview with “60 Minutes.” The lawsuit was seen by left-wing reporters and legal scholars as holding up the Federal Communications Commission’s approval of the Skydance deal. Mr. Trump was reportedly seeking up to $50 million to settle the lawsuit, as well as an apology for the editing of the interview. Paramount made a point of noting that it did not apologize for the Harris interview, and said that the funds will go to Mr. Trump’s future presidential library and not to him directly. After the settlement, it was reported by Fox News, the Washington Free Beacon, and the Wrap that Mr. Trump’s team had an “anticipation” that Skydance would run public service announcements. Someone “close to the settlement negotiations” told the Wrap that “there was anticipation there could be an additional ‘low-to-mid eight-figure allocation.’”The president seemed to confirm those reports in the days after the settlement, telling reporters, “We did a deal for about $16 million plus $16 million or maybe more than that in advertising.”The current management of Paramount has firmly denied the reported side deal, telling the Sun, “Contrary to some news reports or media speculation, Paramount’s settlement with President Trump does not include PSAs or anything related to PSAs. Paramount has no knowledge of any promises or commitments made to President Trump other than those set forth in the settlement proposed by the mediator and accepted by the parties. The material terms of the settlement agreement in principle are those disclosed by us.”While Paramount has denied the reports, Skydance has notably refused to comment on the statement in the weeks since the reports first were published, not even to deny them. However, Variety cited “sources familiar with the situation” who said that Skydance did not agree to any side deal to offer free advertising.Democrats have raised the prospect that such a deal could be illegal. However, it is possible that the FCC, which can set certain conditions for a merger deal, would require Skydance to air PSAs and advertisements for conservative causes, which could defang the concerns about an improper side deal made during the settlement negotiations.The silence on Skydance’s part about the deal could be an attempt to avoid outraging critics and prompting lawsuits. Multiple reports, before the Trump settlement, indicated that members of Paramount’s board feared they could be investigated and possibly charged for allegedly trying to bribe the federal government to approve its merger with Skydance. A legal reporter at Puck, Eriq Gardner, suggested that a future president or an attorney general in a liberal state might try to seize the money the family that currently controls Paramount, the Redstones, received from the Skydance deal through civil forfeiture on the grounds that it was allegedly the result of a corrupt act. One of Paramount’s shareholders, the Freedom of the Press Foundation, has also threatened to sue the company over the settlement with Mr. Trump. Meanwhile, Democrats in Congress repeatedly sent letters to Paramount’s board warning against settling with Mr. Trump. While most of the attention, ire, and questions regarding the Trump settlement have focused on Paramount’s current board, Skydance — though it will likely soon own Paramount and any potential legal problems associated with the deal — and its executives have largely avoided the scrutiny of Paramount’s critics. However, that could change if Democrats and others start to believe that Skydance executives made an improper agreement with Mr. Trump or the government to pave the way for the FCC to approve the Skydance deal with its settlement. Skydance had no formal role in the settlement negotiations. And Democrats are warning that any secret side deal cut with Skydance might violate federal anti-bribery laws. Earlier this week, Senators Warren, Sanders, and Wyden sent a letter to Skydance asking about whether it made a side deal with Mr. Trump. The three powerful, liberal senators said, “These reports raise fresh questions about corruption in the Trump Administration and President Trump’s willingness to accept payments from entities with significant policy interests before agencies he controls.”The chief executive of Skydance, David Ellison, is the son of the world’s second-richest person, Larry Ellison, who is a backer of the president. The younger Mr. Ellison was seen speaking with Mr. Trump and shaking hands with him at a UFC event in June. Meanwhile, Larry Ellison reportedly has had several meetings with the president at the White House. The encounters, though it is not publicly known what was discussed, sparked speculation that the men may have addressed the Skydance deal and possibly offered concessions to Mr. Trump. The public service announcements may not be all that the president gets. Mr. Ellison told the FCC in a meeting last week that he is committed to “unbiased journalism” and to embracing “diverse viewpoints” at CBS News, according to a letter sent to the commission giving an account of the meeting. The language offers an indication that Mr. Ellison hopes to rein in the alleged left-wing bias at the Tiffany Network. Last week, CBS also announced that it was canceling “The Late Show,” hosted by a frequent Trump critic, Stephen Colbert. CBS said the decision was “purely” a financial one and was not related to Paramount’s settlement or merger with Skydance. The network also stated that the decision was made solely by CBS and not Skydance.However, a far-left media reporter, Oliver Darcy, and others have expressed doubts that CBS executives would unilaterally cancel one of the network’s highest-rated shows — which was reportedly losing $40 million a year — without getting a green light or a request to do so from Skydance.

Stubborn Silence From Skydance on Trump’s Claim It Agreed To Air $20 Million Worth of PSAs After Its Purchase of Paramount, CBS Is Complete

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