Could also strike a deal with Charter Communications to split up the network

Comcast Corp., the nation’s largest cable operator, is mulling a bid to acquire Time Warner Cable Inc., which is also being pursued by the considerably smaller Charter Communications.

Time Warner Cable approached the much larger Comcast, but Comcast may also want to work with Charter to break up Time Warner Cable’s assets, sources tell the Wall Street Journal. Time Warner executives are resistant to any deal that will not maximize shareholder value, according to the Los Angeles Times.

A Comcast-Time Warner merger would put the cable company in the same league as satellite TV providers like DirectTV and Dish Network, stave off increasing programming costs, and convince cable subscribers to stick around.

But it’s not clear how serious Comcast is about a deal and whether federal regulators would approve it.

[Wall Street Journal]