Shares of Paramount are set to open higher Friday after long-awaited FCC approval for its merger erased a big question mark hovering over the company's future, but amid ongoing uncertainty about its strategic plans under Skydance Media.

Skydance got an immediate taste of the public relations headaches that come with the studio’s powerful, Trump-baiting talent.

The FCC's approval, which was necessary for the deal to move forward, caps a long-running corporate saga over the fate of Paramount, which owns Paramount+, the Paramount Pictures movie and television studios, the CBS television network and CBS News and Stations. Paramount also owns Nickelodeon, BET, MTV, Comedy Central and other media brands.

Federal government regulators approve an $8 billion merger between Paramount and Skydance. Jerome Powell pushes back during Donald Trump’s visit to the Federal Reserve’s headquarters. And the woman behind the viral “Jet2 holiday” soundbite is surprised at its popularity.

The Federal Communications Commission announced on Thursday the approval of a massive, $8 billion acquisition of Paramount Global by Skydance Media.

Skydance Media offered olive branches to the Federal Communications Commission in order to secure approval for its $8 billion acquisition of Paramount Global, and those overtures achieved the desired result.

After a long, complicated slog toward Thursday’s FCC approval, Paramount Global and Skydance Media will now face a number of tricky questions in becoming one company. While the $8 billion-plus transaction will need a few more days to become official,