Introduction
Paramount Skydance Corp. (Paramount) is attempting to take over Warner Bros. Discovery (Warner Bros.) in a mega-merger valued at $111 billion that would cause massive harm to the media ecosystem and hurt everyday Americans. The combined corporation would place CNN and CBS News, as well as two of the top Hollywood movie studios and other outlets, under control of Chairman and CEO David Ellison, a close ally of President Donald Trump and his administration. This deal will almost certainly reduce competition, raise consumer prices, cause job losses, and curtail creative diversity, while allowing allies of the administration to shape public discourse and push a pro-Trump agenda.
Yet an additional problem lurks under the surface: This merger depends on huge levels of foreign ownership by three Middle Eastern countries—Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Qatar—and a major corporation linked to the Chinese military. As discussed below, the three Middle Eastern authoritarian regimes have deep financial relationships with Trump and his family, and all four countries have long records of human rights abuses and engage in media censorship. These autocracies could leverage Paramount’s news outlets and other media properties to advance their own interests at the expense of the United States’ national security and foundational rights, including press freedoms. Given these factors, these foreign ownership levels are another reason why regulators must rigorously review this merger and take all lawful actions to block it.
A merged Paramount-Warner Bros. would combine CBS News and CNN under one corporate roof, along with 28 local CBS TV licenses in many of the country’s largest media markets. It would also merge two of Hollywood’s biggest studios and streaming platforms. Trump and top Cabinet officials have cheered the Ellisons taking over CNN, which has long been a target of Trump’s anger. David Ellison reportedly promised administration officials “sweeping changes” at CNN. Through it all, Trump has touted his actions to “reshap[e]” the U.S. news media and bring “unpatriotic” news companies to heel.
Far-reaching changes have already happened at CBS News, where new leadership has delayed or censored reports critical of the Trump administration, leading to the resignations of top CBS executives, producers, and reporters, including at the revered “60 Minutes” news program. Executives canceled Stephen Colbert’s show after a history of anti-Trump comedy, although they claimed it was for financial reasons. Paramount also settled a legally dubious lawsuit filed by Trump—weeks before the administration approved Skydance’s acquisition of Paramount and Paramount agreed to install a bias monitor. This further blurred the line between fact-based reporting and political interference during a period of weaponization of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) by its Trump-appointed Chairman Brendan Carr.
Warner Bros. shareholders voted to approve the merger in April 2026, and Paramount wants to complete the deal as soon as July 2026. But the transaction faces a web of regulatory hurdles. The U.S. Department of Justice is conducting an antitrust review, although the depth and independence of the probe remain unclear. Regulators in the European Union and United Kingdom are also examining the impacts, and consumers filed a lawsuit in federal district court in California to stop the deal. Yet the most formidable opposition appears to be coming from states’ attorneys general. California Attorney General Rob Bonta is leading the state-level investigatory effort, saying he sees “red flags everywhere.” Members of Congress are also involved, holding hearings and filing legislation to unwind anticompetitive mega-mergers such as this.
More than 5,300 entertainment industry members have signed an open letter explaining how the deal, which is happening in a sector already roiled by corporate consolidation, will irreparably harm them, refuting David Ellison’s arguments to the contrary. They are joined by a broad coalition of documentary filmmakers, journalists, labor unions, and nonprofits representing tens of millions of Americans.
Dangerously high foreign ownership levels mean this deal cannot go forward
Financing for this merger, according to Paramount, depends heavily on government-controlled sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar. Furthermore, press reports indicate a potential equity stake for Tencent, a Chinese tech giant formally designated by the U.S. Department of Defense as having deep ties to the Chinese military; last year, Warner Bros. worried that Tencent’s potential financing role could trigger heightened regulatory scrutiny.
Although foreign investment is a feature of global markets, the scale and nature of this deal cut sharply against U.S. national security and the public interest. The proposed structure would hand an unprecedented 49.5 percent to 100 percent equity stake to entities inextricably linked to foreign governments that have often acted against U.S. interests. To clear this hurdle, Paramount has asked the FCC to waive the strict 25 percent foreign ownership cap set by Congress for TV and radio stations. The 25 percent cap aims to prevent media companies from being controlled by foreign entities, whose goals often diverge from Americans’ best interests and who can use those platforms to spread anti-U.S. propaganda or meddle in domestic U.S. politics. Paramount claims the overseas owners will be passive, nonvoting investors but acknowledges they could ultimately get voting rights.
Several U.S. senators have rejected Paramount’s argument, noting that “the FCC’s prior approval of foreign ownership of equity in broadcasters has been limited to entities based in allied NATO, Five Eyes, or friendly neighboring countries.” This restriction is vital because substantial overseas investors—even if they lack voting power or seats on the corporate board—will likely find ways to exercise multiple levers of influence over corporate governance or gain access to sensitive consumer data. Experts also warn that foreign media investments like this allow nations a route to exercise “soft power” on the world stage. In the past, FCC Chairman Carr himself has raised foreign ownership concerns about TikTok. As the FCC reviews Paramount’s foreign ownership structure, it is imperative that the agency decide the matter at the full commission level instead of the bureau level and follow the statutory obligation to make licensing decisions in the “public interest,” not the best interests of the Trump administration and its allies.
Aside from FCC review, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) should examine the deal given the serious national security implications. CFIUS, an interagency body chaired by the secretary of the treasury, oversees national security risks of certain foreign direct investment in the United States, including mergers involving sensitive personal data. The relevant risks here include the fact that a combined Paramount-Warner Bros. would possess bulk data on approximately 57 percent of American households, including payment information, viewing habits, location and device data, and consumption patterns. Major shareholders controlled by foreign governments could possibly exploit these data for intelligence purposes by, for example, profiling Americans—including government or military personnel—and supporting influence operations. In fact, Carr opined that CFIUS involvement is warranted and said he believes CFIUS is indeed reviewing, although the Treasury Department has not confirmed this. Multiple members of Congress have urged CFIUS to investigate. Some members of the U.S. House of Representatives also joined their counterparts in the European Parliament to raise major national security red flags and urged CFIUS to review.
The proposed structure’s brazen breach of congressional intent alone should raise serious concerns, but two specific factors heighten the dangers.
1. Geopolitical financial entanglements
The three Middle Eastern countries anchoring this deal have intertwined financial arrangements with Trump and his family, which could give those regimes inordinate sway over government decisions. As several senators warned, these governments “have made a series of investments and gifts to entities controlled by the President and his family, raising serious concerns about their influence over the independent American media and the potential for corruption.” Trump’s financial ties and conflicts of interest in the Middle East, which have been extensively covered in Center for American Progress articles, include:
- Trump’s eldest sons and son-in-law Jared Kushner are involved in multibillion-dollar business ventures in the three Middle Eastern nations at the same time Trump has made foreign policy decisions that favored their leaders.
- Qatar gifted the Trump administration a plane valued at $400 million, which will serve as Air Force One before being gifted to Trump’s presidential library.
2. Suppression of journalism and human rights
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and China share disturbing track records of impeding fact-based journalism and trampling human rights. In the most shocking example, Saudi Arabia’s crown prince personally approved the 2018 brutal murder of U.S. resident and Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who had criticized the Saudi government, inside a Saudi consulate. Moreover, “Saudi Arabia continues to engage in acts of transnational repression on U.S. soil,” including surveilling, threatening, and detaining dissidents. These four autocracies could use their government-linked ownership of Paramount to import their anti-democratic values and threaten U.S. news, entertainment, and culture. It is too easily conceivable that CNN—a pillar of global journalism—could be censored into becoming a mouthpiece for the Trump administration and these repressive governments. FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez warned in a stark statement:
I am alarmed by what appears to be an effort to rubber stamp a financial structure that places nearly half of one of America’s largest broadcast and media companies into the hands of foreign governments with documented records of press suppression and a troubling willingness to silence journalists.
Conclusion
An independent news media and vibrant public discourse are central to America’s identity and way of life, rooted in the First Amendment to the Constitution. The Paramount-Warner Bros. merger is indefensible on antitrust grounds alone, but the fact that it would be financed by foreign regimes with lucrative financial relationships with President Trump and his family, while being hostile to the American way of life, makes it particularly troubling. Regulators with jurisdiction must deploy every lawful tool available to block this merger.