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U.S. Said to Seek Sale of CNN or DirecTV in AT&T-Time Warner Deal
The Justice Department has called on AT&T and Time Warner to sell Turner Broadcasting, the group of cable channels that includes CNN, as a potential requirement for approving the companies' pending $85.4 billion deal, people briefed on the matter said on Wednesday. The other possible way for the merger to win approval would be for AT&T to sell its DirecTV division, two of these people added.
The demands set up a potential battle over the fate of the long-in-the-works deal that would create a colossus straddling the worlds of media and telecommunications at a time when upstarts like Netflix are disrupting traditional players in both industries. As originally envisioned, combining AT&T and Time Warner would yield a giant company offering wireless and broadband internet service, DirecTV, the Warner Brothers movie studio and cable channels like HBO and CNN.
If the Justice Department formally makes either demand a requisite for approval, AT&T and Time Warner would almost certainly take the matter to court to challenge the government's legal basis for blocking the transaction. President Trump has long accused CNN of harboring a bias against him.
Previously: FCC Near Approval of AT&T-DirecTV Deal
AT&T Poised to Buy Time Warner for $85.4 Billion
AT&T and Time Warner Accidentally Argue Against Their Own Merger
(Score: 4, Interesting) by DannyB on Thursday November 09 2017, @04:50PM (3 children)
How about you can be in EITHER the business of providing CONTENT, or the business of DUMB PIPES that ROUTE PACKETS, but not both.
Being both a content provider and the connection provider invites abuses. Temptation to favor your own content and interfere with accessibility of competing content.
If you're a dumb pipe, then you cannot be in any business that creates an interest in discriminating users' traffic.
If you're a pipe that is not dumb, that should be illegal. Your pipe should not be filtering, altering, monitoring, or otherwise discriminating traffic.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 09 2017, @06:23PM
That makes too much sense to actually pass.
Too many people benefit and those in control don't get their cut.
(Score: 3, Funny) by bob_super on Thursday November 09 2017, @06:33PM
The OCP has chosen you as a targ^W volunteer for their latest prototype.
Any other commies complaining about the new perfect business plan which will put more money in my pockets?
(Score: 2) by davester666 on Friday November 10 2017, @09:56AM
You are only decades late with this comment. That ship has sailed a long time ago. Cable/broadcasters/tv stations have been consolidating for a long time, and it's been for the worst (at least for customers, with higher prices and crappier service)...