Who Owns the Media: Paramount

Paramount Global 🐔🐔🐔🐔

Capitulation Rank: Obeying
Category: Broadcasting & Entertainment 
Market Cap: $8.121 billion

Paramount’s controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, is eager to close a megamerger with the Hollywood studio Skydance, a deal that faces a potential obstacle in the form of a frivolous lawsuit President Trump brought against Paramount property CBS News. The $20 billion suit claims that 60 Minutes deceptively edited an interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris. (Free Press filed comments at the Federal Communications Commission stating that the Trump lawsuit and a related proceeding initiated by agency Chairman Brendan Carr are meritless and should be dismissed.)

Redstone’s desire to settle the case to secure approval of the Skydance merger has sparked discontentment among CBS reporters and producers who see the move as a betrayal of the news organization’s journalistic principles and free-speech rights. Award-winning 60 Minutes producer Bill Owens stepped down, claiming he faced editorial pressure from company executives who feared that his refusal to bend a knee to Trump could jeopardize Paramount’s ambitions. This was followed by the forced resignation of President and CEO of CBS News Wendy McMahon.

The sad irony is that Redstone once positioned herself as a champion of First Amendment rights, in 2022 telling free speech advocates that press freedom “must constantly be defended” even when it “comes at a significant cost.” Three years later, she’s singing a completely different tune, willing to drop any pretext of defending press freedom in exchange for the massive financial windfall (up to a billion dollars for Redstone) that comes from merging with another media giant.

DEI Doublespeak:

In February 2025, Paramount’s executive team announced changes to the company’s DEI policies to fall in line with Trump-administration efforts to eliminate diversity programs in the private sector. The company’s leadership is extremely eager to gain FCC approval of the Skydance deal, and “really wish [CBS would] stop giving Trump and Carr reasons to equivocate on, or even block, that deal,” according to Puck.

What It Owns:

Paramount owns the CBS broadcast network; 29 television stations in 18 geographic markets (including KCAL-TV, KCBS-TV, WBZ-TV and WCBS-TV); dozens of cable-TV channels (including BET,  CBS, Nickelodeon and Showtime); film, TV and music production studios (including Paramount Music, Paramount Pictures and Paramount Television Group). Paramount’s online services include CBS News 24/7, CBS Sports HQ, Paramount+ andPluto TV.