SoylentNews

takyon writes:

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

Original Submission