FCC chairman Brendan Carr praised Skydance Media's commitment to hire an ombudsman for CBS News after it completes its merger with Paramount Global.

"I was very pleased to see Skydance put in a filing that says, 'If this deal goes through, they are committing to serious changes at CBS. I think that would be a good thing," Carr told reporters on Thursday during a press conference following the agency's Open Commission meeting.

Skydance committed to removing DEI programs and establishing a bias complaint system at CBS News as it seeks FCC approval for Paramount merger.

Skydance Media has made additional promises to the FCC in an effort to get approval for its $8 billion merger with Paramount Global.

The chair of the Federal Communications Commission said on Thursday he is pleased with commitments that Skydance has made to make serious changes at CBS under a proposed merger with Paramount, but said the agency has not made a decision on the tie-up.

Hours after announcing the approval of Skydance’s merger with Paramount, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr touted the company’s commitment to “addressing bias & restoring fact-based reporting” at CBS News, among other things.

Upon the deal’s closing, Skydance and its financial partners are set inject $1.5 billion in cash into Paramount. However, that’s intended to go toward reducing Paramount’s long-term debt ($14.16 billion as of Q1 of 2025) to help stabilize its balance sheet.