The future of Australia’s Network Ten is now under a cloud after the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) gave the green light to the A$13 billion merger between Skydance Entertainment and Paramount Global overnight.

The approval paves the way for the deal to be finalised within weeks, with industry insiders suggesting Skydance will move quickly to offload or shut down underperforming assets across the Paramount portfolio — a group that includes the ailing Network Ten.

Skydance, a fast-growing film and television studio, will take control of the iconic Paramount Pictures, the CBS television network, and well-known cable brands including MTV, Nickelodeon, and Comedy Central, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Network Ten, currently owned by Paramount, has been struggling in the highly competitive Australian media landscape. CEO Beverley McGarvey (Seen below) recently made a high-stakes bet on expanding the network’s 5.00pm news bulletin into the 6.00pm slot to directly compete with market leaders Nine and Seven. The rebranded “10 News+” has failed to attract viewers and is being outperformed by re-runs of Neighbours on Ten’s own multi-channel, 10 Comedy.

Despite its poor performance, McGarvey reportedly signed hosts Amelia Brace and Denham Hitchcock to expensive two-year contracts rather than tying them to performance-based “run-of-show” deals. The failed news expansion is expected to cost Network Ten more than $18 million.

In the key five-city metro market, 10 News+ has dropped out of the top 40 most-watched programs, drawing fewer than 100,000 viewers a night — a number lower than the audiences for late-night repeats of Griff’s Great Australian Rail Trip on ABC and Father Brown on Seven, according to figures published by The Australian.

Meanwhile, Skydance has already signalled a major shift in corporate culture at the merged company, committing to the elimination of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and the appointment of an ombudsman at CBS News to monitor for media bias.

The merger has been over a year in the making, with Skydance and its financial backer, RedBird Capital, winning out over rival bidders for control of Paramount, previously held by Shari Redstone’s National Amusements. Skydance founder David Ellison will serve as CEO of the new entity, while former NBCUniversal boss Jeff Shell will become president.

The FCC’s decision comes just weeks after Paramount reached a $16 million settlement with former U.S. President Donald Trump, following a lawsuit over a 60 Minutes interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump later claimed the deal also included free airtime for causes he supports, an assertion Paramount has denied.

As Skydance prepares to take control, questions loom over the viability of Network Ten and whether it will survive the coming shake-up.