Time Warner and AT&T are planning an $85 billion merger. However, before that can take place, the Trump administration has reportedly pushed for the sale of assets (like CNN).1 (However, competition regulators at the DOJ, NOT the president, are in charge of reviewing the proposal.) And with this new request, the deal is expected to get pushed into 2018.

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The deal has its critics though; the proposed purchase by AT&T would combine its force as one of the largest providers of cable TV in the US with Time Warner’s entertainment prowess and thereby, concentrate media power. (Remember, “CNN’s parent Turner Broadcasting, Time Warner owns the Warner Bros movie studio and HBO.” 2)

“Regulators are looking at questions such as whether AT&T could raise prices for Time Warner content for other companies – higher costs that could eventually trickle down to consumers.

Earlier this year, lawmakers including Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, said the deal raises antitrust questions.”

Sources and References

  1. BBC, November 8, 2017.
  2. BBC, November 8, 2017.
  3. BBC, November 8, 2017.