The Federal Communications Commission has pressed pause on the proposed Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger.

The $45 billion takeover is on hold due to a delay in receiving documents from TWC.

A self-imposed 180-day deadline for reviewing the merger has been suspended on day 104, and is expected to resume on Jan. 12. The move, however, doesn't necessarily say anything about the state of the merger; these 180-day deadlines, or "shot clocks" as they're known, aren't legally binding and are really just intended to keep things moving.

"This limited and defined three-week clock stoppage allows FCC staff to review the new materials, and we remain on track for the transaction review to be concluded early in 2015," a Comcast spokeswoman said in an emailed statement.

Comcast announced its $45.2 billion deal in February, revealing plans to acquire TWC's 11 million subscribers, while the companies combine their products. In an effort to get the deal approved, Comcast offered to divest customers to Charter.

But the FCC learned this month that Time Warner Cable improperly withheld more than 7,000 documents requested by regulators, citing an "inappropriate claim of attorney-client privilege." Another 31,000 documents allegedly went missing because of a vendor error.

"The magnitude of the errors is material and the delays in rectifying them were substantial so that the tardy productions have interfered with the commission's ability to conduct a prompt and thorough review of the pending applications," FCC Media Bureau Chief William Lake said on Monday, according to Reuters.

The Commission previously put the review on hold from Oct. 3 to Dec. 3, allowing both companies time to respond to a massive data request, and subsequently deal with a dispute over confidentiality.

Comcast, meanwhile, filed its final comments on the merger today; all 139 pages are available to the public.

A TWC spokesman told PCMag that today's delay is "a procedural issue, not a substantive one."

"We already have provided FCC more than five million pages of documents and we will continue to provide the FCC everything that they need to review this transaction," he said in an emailed statement.

Rival Dish Network threw in its two cents, filing a reply to the FCC regarding the proposed merger. "Everyone who likes to watch high-quality online video has particular reason to worry about the proposed merger," Jeff Blum, senior vice president and deputy general counsel for Dish, said in a statement. "More than 54 percent of the country's high-speed broadband connections would be controlled by the combined company ... and all online video distributors would be at the mercy of Comcast-TWC."

The rival company isn't the only one fighting the merger: Earlier this month, the Stop Mega Comcast Coalition launched, claiming that the deal threatens competition and runs counter to antitrust laws. Members include Dish, as well as the Parents Television Council, the Writers Guild of America West, and NTCA (The Rural Broadband Association).

For more, see 5 Reasons to Love and 5 Reasons to Hate the TWC, Comcast Deal.

Editor's Note: This story was updated at 12:10 p.m. Eastern with comment from Time Warner Cable.

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