Paramount Skydance refused to air an ad submitted by a press freedom group that heavily criticized the network’s leadership and merger with Warner Bros Discovery, with an advertising associate deeming it a “conflict of interest”.
The Freedom of the Press Foundation had hoped to air the 30-second ad during Sunday’s Ultimate Fighting Championship broadcast at the White House, which aired on the streaming service Paramount+ – though a client partner for Paramount told the organization’s ad-buyer that such placement was not guaranteed.
“Instead of defending press freedom, CBS’ billionaire owners cut deals and caved to Trump,” the unaired ad states, before touching on the recent uproar at the Sunday show 60 Minutes. “One fired reporter said, ‘CBS demanded falsehoods and bias to appease Trump.’ Now Trump wants the Ellisons to buy CNN, too … Let’s stop Trump’s censorship and block this merger.”
According to an email exchange between Paramount’s ad salesperson and the Freedom of the Press Foundation’s ad buyer, viewed by the Guardian, the discussion about running an ad was going smoothly until the ad was actually submitted. (The organization was told that ads running during the UFC broadcast would cost approximately $300,000.)
Then, on Friday afternoon, two days before the fight, the Paramount salesman sent word that the ad could not run. “Unfortunately, the creative you submitted was a conflict of interest so it was not approved,” the sales representative said. “But we can help you check any other creatives you want to try. Always happy to hop on a call to discuss more.”
Seth Stern, chief of advocacy for Freedom of the Press Foundation, criticized Paramount for refusing to air the ad – although television networks regularly reject advocacy messages for a variety of reasons.
“Ellison has already shown his cards on editorial independence, but, in case there was any doubt, his company has now declined to air a straightforward message about what his proposed takeover of CNN, HBO, and other outlets would mean for press freedom. Instead, it censored it,” Stern said in a statement. “Ellison won’t air criticism of himself, his company, or his buddy Trump. These antics are bad for press freedom, bad for the public, and bad for Paramount – just look at CBS’ recent struggles under Ellison’s watch.”
Stern’s organization instead plans to air the ad on its website dedicated to opposing the merger, which received approval from Donald Trump’s Department of Justice on Friday but still faces regulatory hurdles outside the United States.
