AT&T Says it Won't Sell CNN to Get Merger Approval AT&T executives say they have no intention of selling CNN or parent company Turner Broadcasting in order to get the DOJ to sign off on its $86 billion acquisition of Time Warner. Given the Trump administration's rubber stamping of most telecom industry wishlists (net neutrality, privacy), many expected the administration to sign off on the Time Warner AT&T deal without opposition. But the DOJ this week indicated it wants AT&T to sell either DirecTV or Turner Broadcasting/CNN to get the deal approved.

One of those companies AT&T just paid $69 billion for, and is the cornerstone of the company's looming streaming video ambitions. The other is a coagulation of cable networks essential to AT&T's plans, including one news network that has been under constant fire by the President for being critical of his policies and administration's missteps. AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson made it clear in statements this week that AT&T has no intention of selling either, indicating a potential court battle should the DOJ attempt to block the deal. "Until now, we’ve never commented on our discussions with the DOJ,” Stephenson said. "But given DOJ’s statement this afternoon, it’s important to set the record straight. Throughout this process, I have never offered to sell CNN and have no intention of doing so." Should the debate go to court, several analysts have suggested that AT&T would have the advantage. "We think AT&T's merger approval chances would be further improved if there's meaningful criticism in the coming days of Trump possibly using antitrust law to target CNN, and either the president or DOJ decide a court challenge isn't worth it, especially with DOJ likely to lose the court case," claims Cowen Research analyst Paul Gallant. Critics have repeatedly stated that with AT&T's history of anti-competitive behavior, the company's greater size will be used to put streaming video competitors at a disadvantage. Either by making it harder to obtain the licenses they need for content, or by using the company's stranglehold over an uncompetitive broadband sector to its advantage (usage caps, zero rating). Given the last year's track record, many believe Trump's DOJ is likely much less concerned about the merger's impact on actual consumers, and more interested in aiding Trump's often churlish attempts to undermine and discredit news outlets critical of the Given the last year's track record, many believe Trump's DOJ is likely much less concerned about the merger's impact on actual consumers, and more interested in aiding Trump's often churlish attempts to undermine and discredit news outlets critical of the least popular President in modern American history (giving News corp boss Rupert Murdoch a hand hamstringing a competitor is also a possibility). That, or the Trump administration -- whose FCC has been taking a hatchet to media consolidation rules -- mysteriously and suddenly began to care about anititrust violations, consumers, media consolidation and vertical integration.







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Most recommended from 50 comments

SArcanine

join:2009-11-09

New York 27 recommendations SArcanine Member Just a FYI The request is to sell either DirecTV or Turner, which owns CNN.



Selling CNN would not meet the merger conditions.

ham3843

join:2015-01-15

USA 8 recommendations ham3843 Member This is the best thing the DoJ could make a condition..... Only when AT&T has built out FTTP (actually available to and not just passing) to over 90% of their entire footprint by 2022 should this merger be approved.

Anon06a71

@2600:1005.x 7 recommendations Anon06a71 Anon Jobs? Convictions? Fines? If you remove shareholder's interest from the equation, how will this purchase help the rest of us? Traditionally at&t mergers result in lost jobs. None of the mergers has dramatically changed the availability or speed of DSL or lte otherwise there would be no slc96 cabinets or 3-6 Meg DSL and there would be no new installs of 10 megabit fixed wireless. Special first responder networks wouldn't be necessary because the network would be able to stay up. The bottom line is at&ts interests are not ours. Quite frankly with at&ts fines and evidence of wrong doing, I would think no one wants those types in charge of porta-potty cleaning.

TIGERON

join:2008-03-11

Boston, MA 4 recommendations TIGERON Member Divest the wireline The DOJ should force AT&T to sell OR spin off the unwanted copper wireline assets.