The deal opens the door to major changes at CBS News, with FCC Chairman Brendan Carr saying, "Americans no longer trust the legacy national news media to report fully, accurately, and fairly. It is time for a change.

The pending merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media was formally approved by the Trump administration on Thursday, concluding months of regulatory uncertainty.

More than a year after Skydance Media and its partners clinched a deal with Shari Redstone and Paramount Global to merge the companies, the FCC has yet to act on an application to approve the transfer of CBS licenses to the new ownership.

Liberal lawmakers asked David Ellison, chief executive of Skydance Media, which is set to merge with CBS owner Paramount, about alleged promises on conservative ad content.

Skydance's CEO told the FCC this week that CBS would reflect "varied ideological perspectives" of U.S. viewers, while touting "American storytelling."