Buried in Print: 2 Surprises In Paramount Mega Deal

Key Takeaways:

• The Deal Expires In 5 Years
• No Requirement That PSKY Remains In California

California AG Rob Bonta “caved across the board” in a sudden Monday settlement with Paramount that handed David Ellison a clear victory, sources close to the talks say — and Bonta appeared close to tears as he announced a deal he still said should never have happened.

Players on Bonta’s side were shocked by the outcome. Sources close to the negotiations told Page Six Hollywood they were caught off guard when the settlement dropped Monday morning.

“There’s almost nothing in here with all the filings, statements, and law on their side that reflects they got anything,” an astonished insider said of the attorney general. “They caved across the board and I don’t know why. Clearly someone pressured him to do this.”

The Post’s Charles Gasparino reported that the collapse followed political pressure from Gov. Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and potential governor Xavier Becerra after Ellison indicated he would leave town with the studio if no deal was reached. Ellison and Bonta also had a one-on-one meeting late last week, according to that reporting.

Bonta may have been privately unhappy as well. “When he said at the press conference that he never believed that this merger should take place — as he was announcing the merger — he looked like he was going to cry,” a source close to the situation said.

“I’m trying to understand why everything they said and filed and that the judge agreed to went out the window in the last few days. I just don’t understand it,” the exasperated insider added.

Despite months of arguments that Paramount needed “meaningful” structural remedies — typically meaning asset sales — the settlement contained virtually none. Buried in the fine print, Ellison’s agreements last only five years. After that, all bets are off.

Hours after the announcement, Ellison said: “Let me be clear: the newly merged company will be headquartered in Los Angeles. We aren’t going anywhere.” Bonta noted, however, that nothing in the settlement requires Paramount to keep its headquarters in L.A.

Around Hollywood, the mood among those who had sought to block the merger was a mix of outrage and grim acceptance — in the middle of Yom Kippur, when many in town were hours into their fasts.

CNN Is A Keeper

Paramount will not have to sell major assets such as CNN and now expects to close its takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery in about two weeks, avoiding millions in late fees if the deal missed an Oct. 1 deadline.

The outcome comes despite California Attorney General Rob Bonta saying this summer he opposed “behavioral” remedies—essentially promises to behave rather than forced divestitures.

Bonta became increasingly isolated. Paramount had already struck deals with movie theater chains and settled with regulators worldwide, including FCC Chairman Brendan Carr. 

Other California Democrats, including Gov. Gavin Newsom and gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra, publicly urged him to settle, citing Paramount’s threat to leave the state for a place such as Tennessee.

Bonta’s settlement prompted other opponents, including additional states and the Writers Guild unions, to settle as well.

David Ellison now faces the harder work of combining the two companies, including expected broad layoffs. The merged business will carry about $80 billion in debt, leaving little financial room as it competes with Netflix and Disney.

More media deals are likely to follow. CNN, which joined other networks in suing the Trump administration after the president barred them from White House grounds, is expected to face heightened scrutiny.

'The Daily' Remains The Top News Podcast

Here is the latest RoadMN’s Podcasts Index™ for the News category, dated Tuesday, September 22, 2026. It is not an official Apple/Spotify chart. It is a weighted blend of three public charts: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music.

Courtesy of RoadMN

The Daily (New York Times) is #1 by a wide margin (Index 1.1), #1 on both Spotify and Apple and #2 on Amazon. That score is unchanged from last week. Up First from NPR is a stable #2 (2.7).

After that, the news field splits along familiar lines:

• Center/legacy news: The Daily, Up First, NPR News Now (#5), The Journal (#7), Today, Explained (#10), WSJ What’s News (#13), The Headlines (#16), Global News Podcast (#17), The NPR Politics Podcast (#20), Consider This (#21).
• Conservative / talk: The Tucker Carlson Show (#3, 5.2), The Megyn Kelly Show (#6), Candace (#9), The Matt Walsh Show (#11), Morning Wire (#12), The Ben Shapiro Show (#14), The Dan Bongino Show (#15), The Michael Knowles Show (#22), The Glenn Beck Program (#24).
• Progressive / left-leaning: Pod Save America (#4, 5.3), The MeidasTouch Podcast (#8), IHIP News (#18), The Louder with Crowder is actually Crowder at #26 — wait, Louder with Crowder is conservative; The Rachel Maddow Show is #28 and the weakest score on the list (65.0).

Amazon often diverges from Apple/Spotify. Examples: The Ben Shapiro Show is #3 on Amazon but only #29 on Apple; The Glenn Beck Program is #14 on Amazon vs. #42 on Spotify; Reuters World News is #90 on Apple and ranks near the bottom of this index.

Week-over-week movement

Most of the top 10 barely moved. Notable shifts vs. Sept 15:

• The Ben Shapiro Show slipped hard in the composite (9.9 → 17.5), falling from the top 10 to #14.
• The Dan Bongino Show improved (21.1 → 17.8).
• Pivot improved (24.9 → 21.5).
• Reuters World News improved (59.0 → 54.0).
• The Rachel Maddow Show worsened (47.5 → 65.0) and sits last among the 28 listed shows.

PSKY, WBD Merger Likely To Result In New Sports Synergy

The parent companies of TBS/TNT Sports (Warner Bros. Discovery) and CBS Sports (Paramount Skydance) are completing a $110–111 billion merger when the deal is expected to close by early October 2026. 

This combines two of the largest U.S. sports media operations into a single division second only to ESPN in scale. TBS, TNT, and truTV sit inside WBD’s TNT Sports unit. CBS Sports operates the CBS broadcast network, CBS Sports Network, and large parts of Paramount+. 

After close, those assets will be run as one group. CBS Sports president David Berson is widely viewed as the favorite to lead the combined operation. TNT Sports chair Luis Silberwasser and his team have continued operating independently until the legal path cleared.

Paramount To Create Board To Monitor News Content

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said Monday that Paramount must create a News Editorial Independence Board for CBS News and CNN as a condition of settling the multi-state antitrust suit that had delayed its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. 

An independent monitoring trustee, along with an internal compliance monitor, will oversee whether the combined company keeps those commitments. 

Bonta, who led a 12-state coalition that sued in July to block the roughly $110 billion deal, announced the settlement at a Los Angeles news conference. He said the board is meant to support “continued editorial independence” at the two news organizations and to “ensure independent, objective, fact-based reporting.” 

Critics Skeptical of Board Oversight of CNN and CBS News

Paramount has settled lawsuits brought by a coalition of 12 U.S. states seeking to block its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, agreeing as a condition of the deal to create a news editorial independence board intended to safeguard the editorial autonomy of CBS News and CNN.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the settlement at a press conference, saying Paramount “must establish a news editorial independence board to support CBS News and CNN’s continued editorial independence to ensure independent, objective, fact-based reporting at CBS News and at CNN.” 

In a legal motion to formally end the case, the companies said the board would “establish guiding editorial and journalism principles for the combined entity’s news channels.”

Paramount Settlement Clears Way for Warner Megadeal

State attorneys general have settled their lawsuit seeking to block Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, clearing the last major legal hurdle for a merger that would combine two Hollywood studios, two streaming services, CBS, and CNN.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who led the 12-state coalition, announced the deal Monday at a Los Angeles news conference. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav told staff the companies expect the merger to close no later than early October, though the exact date is not yet set.

In exchange for the states dropping the antitrust case, Paramount agreed to a package of conditions. It must release 30 films a year in theaters and create a News Editorial Independence Board “to support CBS News’ and CNN’s continued editorial independence” and “ensure independent, objective, fact-based reporting,” Bonta said.

That board must be in place within 180 days of closing. It will have five “established journalists,” active or retired, each with at least 10 years of experience. Paramount’s board of directors will appoint the members, and no more than two may be affiliated with the same political party. The panel is charged with resolving disputes over “alleged reporting bias or failure to meet agreed reporting fairness standards” and with monitoring “editorial independence, including from… ownership and shareholders.”

The combined company would join Paramount’s film and television studios, CBS, and Paramount+ with Warner’s studios, HBO, CNN, and other cable networks. The settlement would allow Paramount CEO David Ellison and his father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, to sharply expand their media holdings.“Our goal has always been to build a stronger Hollywood — one with more stories told, greater choice for consumers and stronger competition,” David Ellison said. He thanked Bonta and the other attorneys general for “engaging in good faith to find a path forward.”

Study Offers New Insights Into Talent Endorsements and Host Reads

Radio and podcast host reads — can deliver stronger brand impact than other paid creative when advertisers name themselves immediately and lean into entertaining, emotion-driven messages, according to a new global study.

The findings are in “The Creator Effectiveness Playbook: How to Build Your Brand with Creators,” from WPP Media, creative-testing firm System1, and TikTok. Cumulus Media/Westwood One Audio Active Group Chief Insights Officer Pierre Bouvard examines the research in a new blog post.

Researchers measured responses to 1,217 paid ads among 182,500 TikTok users in eight markets and linked those results to in-market brand-lift data. The campaigns represented $71 million in media spending and 23.6 billion impressions.

Creator ads — which Bouvard likens to radio and podcast host reads — produced greater brand-memory lift, combining awareness and ad recall. Two factors stood out: naming the advertiser within the first two seconds, and generating strong positive emotion through entertaining content.

Good Morning: Here's The Pulse For Tuesday, Sep 22

Radio Broadcasting

Host-Read Ads Make Impact: Radio and podcast host reads — can deliver stronger brand impact than other paid creative when advertisers name themselves immediately and lean into entertaining, emotion-driven messages, according to a new global study. MORE

Garth Moves On: Garth Brooks and TuneIn have ended their three-year partnership behind the SEVENS Radio Network, a move tied to TuneIn’s recent acquisition by Stingray Group Inc. Two of the network’s stations — The Garth Channel and Tailgate Radio — signed off Tuesday. MORE

Mets Voice Signs-Off: Howie Rose signed off from his final New York Mets radio broadcast Sunday after 32 seasons, fighting back tears. MORE

TWH Launches Trump TV

The White House launched “TRUMP TV: The Essentials Station,” a 24/7 YouTube livestream of the administration’s selected speeches, announcements and past highlights, on Monday night after major U.S. television networks suspended their shared White House pool coverage. 

The stream, also promoted through the White House app, opened with archived footage of President Donald Trump’s July 3 speech at Mount Rushmore and later played his 2025 inauguration.  The official White House account billed it as “top past moments, announcements, and the latest and greatest from the administration all in one place.” 

Garth Brooks Exits Tune-In Partnership

Garth Brooks and TuneIn have ended their three-year partnership behind the SEVENS Radio Network, a move tied to TuneIn’s recent acquisition by Stingray Group Inc. Two of the network’s stations — The Garth Channel and Tailgate Radio — signed off Tuesday. 

The BIG 615 will remain on TuneIn through the end of 2026 but will no longer be affiliated with Brooks or SEVENS. Brooks said he plans to announce new broadcast and multimedia initiatives in the coming months. 

“The Stingray family has been fantastic in the transition along with TuneIn’s people,” he said. “We couldn’t be happier with the three years we have spent with them and wish them well on their future endeavors and hope we cross paths in the future.” 

MLB Mets Fans Send-Off Howie Rose Into Retirement

Howie Rose signed off from his final New York Mets radio broadcast Sunday after 32 seasons, fighting back tears as Citi Field fans chanted his name during a 7-2 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. The 72-year-old play-by-play voice called the Mets’ last home game of 2026 on ESPN New York 880 after rain forced the team to postpone a planned pregame retirement ceremony until Opening Weekend 2027. 

An announced crowd of 33,611 still turned the meaningless late-season contest into a farewell. After the eighth inning, the public-address system played the Beatles’ “Hello, Goodbye.” Fans faced the radio booth and chanted “Howie Rose” as the ninth began. Rose’s voice cracked on air. He reached for tissues, joking that Rangers great Mark Messier had long ago advised him to pack Kleenex for moments like this. 

“It’s not goodbye as far as I’m concerned,” he told listeners. “I’ll still be here for the ceremonies, and I don’t mean the retirement ceremonies. I mean Opening Day, and when we have Mets Hall of Fame Day, or retire a number, have an Old Timers’ Day. So I’m stepping away. It’s basically a retirement.” 

Not Everyone Is Happy With MNF Pairing SAS, McAfee

ESPN put Stephen A. Smith and Pat McAfee on the same Monday Night Countdown desk Monday before the New York Giants–Los Angeles Rams game at SoFi Stadium, drawing immediate backlash from viewers who say the two stars already dominate the network. 

McAfee is a full-time member of the pregame show this season. Smith was a guest, not a regular on that desk. The pairing hit a nerve because both men are among ESPN’s most expensive and most visible personalities. 

Smith signed a five-year deal reported at about $100 million. McAfee’s existing ESPN arrangement has been valued near $85 million over five years, with talks of a much larger extension; some coverage has framed their combined ESPN commitments in the $80 million–$86 million range cited by critics of the network’s star spending. Fans have long complained they cannot escape either face across First Take, The Pat McAfee Show, College GameDay and NFL studio shows. 

The Daily Mail U-S reports on X, that complaint became the story of the pregame. “Best way to ruin the pre-game show is to not only put Pat Mcafee on, but then add Stephen A. Smith,” one user wrote. 

Radio History: Sep 22

➦In 1899...Lee DeForest sought employment with Marconi. Lee DeForest de Forest (August 26, 1873 – June 30, 1961) was an American inventor with over 180 patents to his credit. He named himself the "Father of Radio," with this famous quote, "I discovered an Invisible Empire of the Air, intangible, yet solid as granite."

Lee de Forest

In 1906 de Forest invented the Audion, the first triode vacuum tube and the first electrical device which could amplify a weak electrical signal and make it stronger. The Audion, and vacuum tubes developed from it, founded the field of electronics and dominated it for forty years, making radio broadcasting, television, and long-distance telephone service possible, among many other applications. For this reason de Forest has been called one of the fathers of the "electronic age".

He is also credited with one of the principal inventions that brought sound to motion pictures.

De Forest was a charter member of the Institute of Radio Engineers. DeVry University was originally named De Forest Training School by its founder Dr. Herman A. De Vry, who was a friend and colleague of de Forest.

➦In 1899...Hanley Stafford born (Died September 9, 1968) He was an actor principally on radio.

Hanley Stafford

He is remembered best for playing Lancelot Higgins on The Baby Snooks Show. Stafford also assumed the role of Mr. Dithers, the boss of Dagwood Bumstead on the Blondie radio program. He is commemorated by a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

After emigrating to the US in his twenties he became active in radio acting, appearing in show on KFWB, L-A. Beginning in 1937 he became widely known as Lancelot Higgins (“Daddy”) in Fannie Brice’s radio skit, ‘Baby Snooks,’ and as Dagwood’s boss Mr.Dithers on the radio version of the comic strip ‘Blondie.’

Stafford emigrated from England to Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1911. He enlisted in the 43rd Battalion of the Canadian Scottish Infantry in 1915, was wounded in the Third Battle of Yprès in 1916 and returned to England in 1918. Until 1924 he toured Canada in drama productions and landed in Los Angeles that year. He played in stock for eight years and then in tent shows. He was appearing on KFWB radio in Los Angeles by April 1932 then went to Phoenix to manage a stock company, the Delmas-Lawless Players, before returning to Los Angeles to resume stage and radio work the following August.

➦In 1927...NBC Radio's sportscaster Graham McNamee called the famous “Long count” championship fight in which Jack Dempsey lost the heavyweight boxing title to Gene Tunney. He was featured on the cover of the October 3, 1927 issue of Time magazine

➦In 1943...singer Kate Smith ended her War Bond radio appeal. She had been on the air for 13 continuous hours and collected $39 million in bond pledges.