Paramount is attempting to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery and has attracted billions of dollars in financial investment from three Gulf countries. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Thursday agreed to the company's request for indirect ownership from foreign investors.
Approval of Indirect Ownership
The FCC allowed the national wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates to have indirect ownership in the Paramount-Warner combination, but no voting rights have been granted to them. Paramount, which owns CBS and several other television networks in the United States, expressed happiness with the FCC's decision, stating that these investments will have no managerial rights and that the family of David Ellison and RedBird Capital will continue to hold majority ownership of the combined company.
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Criticism and Concerns
However, critics consider this action unprecedented and believe that the large volume of money being exchanged could have hidden impacts on major news operations like CBS and CNN in the future. Anna Gomez, the only Democratic commissioner of the FCC, has strongly opposed this decision and warned that this investment could lead to indirect control by repressive governments over news content.
Gomez had previously warned about the negative impacts of these investments from foreign governments with a history of media repression. She specifically pointed to the Saudi Public Investment Fund controlled by Mohammed bin Salman, which has come under scrutiny due to its involvement in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.
Several lawmakers have also recently examined the role of national wealth funds and expressed serious concerns in this regard. Brendan Carr, the FCC chairman appointed by Republican President Donald Trump, has supported the deal since it was announced.
While Paramount has obtained FCC approval for these investments, ongoing legal issues surrounding the Warner Bros. merger continue. The state of California and 11 other states are seeking to block the merger, and these cases are set to go to court in March.
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Source: abcnews.com
