Federal Communications commissioner Anna Gomez on Tuesday urged the agency to closely scrutinize foreign investment tied to Paramount Global’s proposed merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, which would leave the combined company just shy of half foreign-owned.
“The American public deserves to know who owns the airwaves that carry their news,” Gomez, the lone Democrat on the FCC panel, said in a 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.”
Paramount’s FCC disclosures show that foreign investors would hold a 49.5% stake in the merged company, including 38.5% tied to investment funds from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi. FCC rules cap foreign broadcast license ownership at 25%, meaning the company must obtain a declaratory ruling allowing the higher threshold.
Gomez said the proposal raises concerns about transparency, national security and press freedom.
“There are serious, unresolved questions about how this foreign investment may jeopardize national security, and this Commission has a legal obligation to answer them before handing wealthy friends of this Administration yet another Billionaire Buddy Bypass on a transaction that strikes at the heart of American journalism,” Gomez said.
Paramount argues that allowing foreign investment above the statutory threshold would serve the public interest by expanding access to capital and helping it compete more effectively in broadcast TV and the broader video marketplace. The company also notes that the Ellison family would retain majority voting control, and said the proposed ownership structure does not raise national security, law enforcement, foreign policy or trade concerns.
Gomez is particularly concerned about the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman-controlled Saudi Public Investment Fund, citing the 2018 assassination of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi [bin Salman has denied approving the killing].
Gomez called on the FCC to coordinate with national security agencies before issuing any approval and urged the commission to make foreign investment agreements public. The FCC is accepting public comments through May 27, with reply comments due June 11.
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