The $8.4 billion merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media won approval from U.S. regulators on Thursday, clearing the way for a sale that evolved into a clash over press freedom in the era of President Donald Trump.

The deal will put well-known entertainment properties including the CBS broadcast television network, Paramount Pictures, and the Nickelodeon cable channel under the ownership of tech scion David Ellison.

Paramount this month paid $16 million in a controversial move to settle a lawsuit Trump filed against the company and CBS News, sparking accusations it effectively had paid for approval of the merger.

The Federal Communications Commission approved the deal in a partisan 2-1 vote that allows the transfer of CBS television stations. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, an app

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