The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday formally approved the $8 billion merger of CBS parent company Paramount and Skydance Media, ending a more than 250-day review process marked by controversy and accusations of inappropriate political pressure. The vote was 2-1, with Democratic-appointed commissioner Anna M. Gomez opposing the transaction. “Americans no longer trust the legacy national news media to report fully, accurately, and fairly,” FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said in a statement. “It is time for a change. That is why I welcome Skydance’s commitment to make significant changes at the once storied CBS broadcast network.”

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A Paramount spokesperson declined to comment.

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Earlier this week, Skydance agreed to several major concessions that “pleased” Carr, as he said during a news conference earlier Thursday. Skydance pledged to conduct a review of CBS’s content and to appoint an ombudsman to handle claims of bias. The network also agreed to refrain from diversity, equity and inclusion programs, another Carr priority.

“These commitments, if implemented, would enable CBS to operate in the public interest and focus on fair, unbiased, and fact-based coverage,” Carr said Thursday. “Doing so would begin the process of earning back Americans’ trust.”

In a meeting last week with Carr, Skydance chief executive David Ellison pledged his company’s “commitment to unbiased journalism and its embrace of diverse viewpoints,” arguing that the members of the new ownership group “represent fresh leadership” that could help the company thrive in a challenging market for media. Ellison’s father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, is a friend of President Donald Trump.

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Gomez, who has expressed concern that the administration was unduly pressuring Skydance and Paramount to make concessions to secure approval of the merger, blasted the outcome in a statement. “After months of cowardly capitulation to this administration, Paramount finally got what it wanted,” she said. “Unfortunately, it is the American public who will ultimately pay the price for its actions.”

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Democratic Sens. Edward J. Markey (Massachusetts) and Ben Ray Luján (New Mexico) said in a statement Thursday that the merger approval “reeks of the worst form of corruption.”

“The stench of this transaction will linger over the Commission for years,” they added.

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Earlier this month, Paramount agreed to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit filed last year by then-candidate Trump over CBS’s editing of a “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris. Although the company said the settlement was separate from the FCC’s review process, many critics saw the deal as a down payment on approval of the merger. The settlement was finalized this week.

Late last week, Paramount said it would cancel “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” just days after the frequent Trump critic described his parent company’s payment as a “big fat bribe.” During an appearance on Fox News on Thursday, Carr did not answer directly when asked whether Trump was involved with the cancellation, which the president celebrated on social media — but which Paramount described as a purely “financial” transaction.

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Announced in July 2024, the merger was framed as a way to bring together Paramount’s film division, intellectual property and slate of television networks — including Comedy Central and Showtime — with Skydance, an independent film, television and animation studio, to create a larger media conglomerate more able to compete with entertainment heavyweights such as Disney and Netflix.

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The FCC appeared to support that business case, saying in a release Thursday that the deal “will unleash the investment of $1.5 billion into Paramount, bolstering all aspects of its operations, including broadcast.”

Like other companies that own traditional television networks, Paramount has faced financial difficulties as more viewers migrate to watching content on social media and streaming services. In the first three months of this year, Paramount saw a 6 percent year-over-year decline in revenue, with an even larger 19 percent decline in advertising revenue. Still, the company touted a growing customer base of 79 million for its Paramount+ streaming service.

The merger approval is a big win for Paramount’s controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, who stands to profit handsomely. Were the deal to have fallen through, Redstone would have been on the hook for a $400 million breakup fee.

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The most immediate impact for CBS is likely to be cost-cutting: Skydance executives said last year that they had identified about $2 billion in potential cost savings as part of the transaction.

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The future is less certain for CBS News, which will receive new leadership and, some employees fear, a new editorial mandate.

The network had been racked by instability over the past few months over controversy about the potential settlement of Trump’s lawsuit, which was seen by many legal experts as winnable. Two executives who were known to oppose a settlement, “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens and CBS News and Stations chief executive Wendy McMahon, departed the network in the spring.

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“​​We are all just holding our breath. We all know that when the sale happens, that’s not the end; it’s the beginning,” one CBS News staffer, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment, said before the merger was approved. “The Ellisons really do have an opportunity to really rally the troops and signal to us that they want to move past all the pain that has come from the sale, and want to invest in CBS News and make CBS great again.”

Before Owens resigned in April, he expressed concerns that Paramount’s corporate leaders had meddled in the Sunday newsmagazine’s programming.

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During a podcast interview with the New Yorker in May, veteran “60 Minutes” correspondent Lesley Stahl expressed optimism that Ellison — and the people he brings in to run the network — would “hold the freedom of the press up as a beacon” and allow the show to remain independent.