Donald Trump has claimed that the future owner of US television network CBS will provide him with $20m worth of advertising and programming, days after the network cancelled Stephen Colbert's show. The US president recently reached a $16m settlement with Paramount, the parent of CBS News, over what he claimed was misleading editing of a pre-election interview with Kamala Harris.
While CBS initially called the lawsuit 'completely without merit', Paramount is in the midst of an $8bn sale to the Hollywood studio Skydance Media, which requires federal regulatory approval. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote: 'Paramount/CBS/60 Minutes have today paid $16 Million Dollars in settlement, and we also anticipate receiving $20 Million Dollars more from the new Owners, in Advertising, PSAs [public service announcements], or similar Programming, for a total of over $36 Million Dollars.'
CBS and Skydance did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Trump's claim is likely to exacerbate anger over the axing of The Late Show, which CBS announced on Thursday. Colbert, a high-profile critic of Trump, had branded Paramount's settlement with Trump 'a big fat bribe'. He is due to remain on air until May.
Skydance was founded by David Ellison, son of tech billionaire Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle, and an ally of Trump. The $16m settlement was already seen by critics as a further example of media companies capitulating to the US president. After Trump's latest claim, Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren said in a statement: 'This reeks of corruption.'
