On The Verge Of Merge: The AT&T And Time Warner Story

A federal judge has approved the merger of AT&T and Time Warner.

NPR’s David Folkenflik and Yuki Noguchi report:

Judge Richard Leon rejected arguments by Justice Department lawyers that the combined company would be too large and too powerful and that the $85 billion deal would harm competition and hurt consumers.

Time Warner owns CNN, HBO, Warner Bros. Entertainment and a passel of cable channels including TNT, TBS and the Cartoon Network.

President Trump has opined on the matter, saying the merger would be bad for consumers.

Folkenflik and Noguchi again:

On the campaign trail in October 2016, then-candidate Donald Trump spoke in Gettysburg, Pa. He noted that Time Warner owned CNN, and then declared his opposition to the $85 billion proposed sale. It is, he said then, “a deal we will not approve in my administration because it’s too much concentration of power in hands of too few.”

What does this mean for the media and entertainment industries? How will this deal affect future mergers?

GUESTS

Steven Overly, Tech reporter, Politico; @stevenoverly

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