Is Paramount Offering Millions To Trump To End '60 Minutes' Lawsuit? Report Says 'Opening Offer Has Been Made'

Media company Paramount Global PARAPARAA has struggled to get its merger with Skydance over the finish line and an ongoing lawsuit with President Donald Trump could be the reason to blame.

A new report says Paramount is ready to settle with millions of dollars. Could that get the deal through?

What Happened: Trump has lashed out at Paramount's "60 Minutes" news program and filed a $20 billion lawsuit for alleged mishandling of the airing of a Kamala Harris interview before the 2024 election that was claimed to have been heavily edited.

Paramount has held firm and not settled the lawsuit and "60 Minutes" has even aired several segments that could be viewed as anti-Trump in recent months.

A new report from The Wall Street Journal says Paramount could be ready to settle and offered $15 million. The report said the $15 million is well shy of the original lawsuit amount and also comes in under the $25 million amount that Trump is reportedly requesting. Another hiccup could be another request from Trump, with reports that he wants a public apology from CBS News.

Deadline confirmed with sources that talks between Trump's lawyers and Paramount's lawyers have begun.

"It's very early days. An opening offer has been made, but more negotiations are underway," the source told Deadline.

The source said it was an "eight-figure discussion" at the time.

Paramount declined to comment to the Wall Street Journal and the White House team did not respond to Deadline's request for comment as the reports went public Wednesday.

A potential settlement and cash payment to Trump comes in the wake of former "60 Minutes" executive producer Bill Owens resigning last month and CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon recently stepping down from her role. The moves were widely seen as potential foreshadowing to a deal with Trump and tighter control on news segments going forward.

Read Also: CBS Highlights TV Dominance, 17-Year Streak On Top: Can Success Help Offset Trump, Merger Concerns?

Why It's Important: A deal between Paramount and Trump could be viewed as a bribe, something that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has warned the media company about in regards to federal bribery laws.

The ongoing merger between Skydance and Paramount faced struggles from the start and could now be delayed due to needing approval by the FCC, which is led by Trump supporter Brendan Carr. Ahead of taking the role as FCC chair, Carr said the "60 Minutes" lawsuit could come up in the merger review. He has since downplayed that notion, saying the lawsuit is separate from merger consideration.

Several companies and executives that were once vocal against Trump have turned their feelings around with donations to his inauguration fund or other items that could directly benefit the president.

A potential payment made by Paramount to Trump and a later approval of the merger could draw red flags from members of Congress like Sanders.

For Paramount, a settlement or donation to Trump that leads to a merger approval could make sense to get their deal across the finish line and for planned synergies between the two media companies to begin to take shape.

PARA Price Action: Paramount stock is down 0.37% to $12.05 on Thursday at publication versus a 52-week trading range of $9.54 to $13.05. Paramount stock is up 13.5% year-to-date in 2025.

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