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AT&T

Over the past 24-hour interval, we've seen a flurry of stories on the Department of Justice'due south position on the AT&T/Time Warner cable merger, which was outset announced dorsum in October 2022. This story has been bouncing back and forth a fair bit, with various claims from multiple parties. Here'southward what we know thus far.

First, Reuters reported that the Department of Justice was threatening to scuttle the proposed AT&T/Fourth dimension Warner deal unless AT&T agreed to sell off either Turner Dissemination, which owns CNN, or DirecTV. The same source said AT&T had offered to sell just CNN, rather than divesting the entire unit.

AT&T's CEO, Randall Stephenson, denied this study, saying: "Until now, nosotros've never commented on our discussions with the DOJ," Stephenson said in a statement. "But given DOJ's statement this afternoon, information technology's important to set the record straight. Throughout this process, I have never offered to sell CNN and take no intention of doing then."

CNBC also reports hearing that AT&T specifically offered to sell CNN–and simply CNN–at a coming together this by Monday, but that the Section of Justice rejected the idea because it wouldn't solve the department'south regulatory concerns virtually allowing the two enormous companies to integrate.

ReCode points out out that nosotros're seeing something of an changeabout from the head of antitrust investigations at the Section of Justice on the topic. In 2022, antitrust expert Makan Delrahim, a law professor at Pepperdine University, was confident that there were no big worries about the deal, which represents a vertical merger between ii companies with a more diversified portfolio of interests than a horizontal merger between two companies in the same field. Today, every bit the caput of antitrust regulation appointed past Donald Trump, Delrahim has been more than cautious.

Delrahim

Makan Delrahim.

Recode draws a strong link between President Trump's often-stated dislike for CNN and the DOJ's reported need that AT&T sell either Turner Dissemination or DirecTV as a condition for approving the merger. This is absolutely possible: Trump has shown a marked willingness to inject his own opinions and commentary on diverse matters where past presidents were unwilling to tread. Simply it's far from the just caption.

While the revolving door between industries and the authorities employees responsible for regulating those industries has been a problem for decades, Delrahim wouldn't be the first regime official to prefer dissimilar views when he transitioned to a high-level position. Earlier his confirmation, one-time FDC chair Tom Wheeler was derided past many every bit a stooge of the cable companies and telcos in general. One time in office, he proved himself a champion of reducing broadband costs and improving speeds across the country, including oft-neglected rural areas. Then again, opposing these kinds of mergers also breaks with the GOP's typical approach, and Trump hasn't exactly established a reputation for trust-busting in his showtime ten months in role. Information technology's non articulate, yet, what's driving the DOJ's arguments.

Finally, the Department of Justice has said that selling CNN "would not solve antitrust concerns" nigh the AT&T and Fourth dimension Warner merger. Of all the statements released thus far, this is the most meaningless. No one has reported that the sale of Turner Dissemination or DirecTV as the condition to approve a merger. They've reported information technology equally a condition of a merger. Virtually mergers contain a range of agreed-upon requirements, whether that means taking steps to ensure that the market for Television remains competitive, guaranteeing low-price packages are available to consumers in areas with limited-to-no contest, or (in other cases) stipulating that an ISP buying another ISP still offers affordable services.

Furthermore, Reuters reports the DOJ referring specifically to the CNN issue, which would notwithstanding exist accurate if the Department of Justice said, "You need to sell Turner Broadcasting" and AT&T responded with "How about but CNN?" Y'all tin argue that Delrahim is pushing to slice off Turner Broadcasting because he needs political cover for what would otherwise be an absurdly overt effort to punish the coverage of a network the president dislikes. Or you can argue that the Department of Justice has legitimate antitrust concerns that spinning off Turner Broadcasting would address. Merely no one is maxim that the DOJ advanced the CNN argument and past refuting the thought in those terms, the officials Reuters spoke to are denying something the earlier Reuters story didn't advance. It'southward a bog standard PR play tricks. Don't autumn for information technology.

The Atlantic also has a fairly good writeup on this issue besides. It notes that the DOJ could exist concerned about the concentration of media power in a merged AT&T / Time Warner and that this is the proximate cause of the need that the visitor divest from CNN. This is echoed in a more recent update from the DOJ via Reuters, which notes that antitrust regulators think a combined visitor could limit the ability of "innovative new technologies to evangelize content to consumers."

I'm mostly against continued mergers and acquisitions. Nosotros're already living in an era that rivals the Gilded Historic period for concentrated corporate power. The head of the FTC, Ajit Pai, has literally claimed that businesses in areas with just one broadband provider can be considered competitive if some other provider exists within a half mile, even if the second provider offers no service to the business in question. There are good reasons to exist skeptical of this bargain that have nix to do with President Trump. Until we know the DOJ's public motivations and arguments, nosotros won't exist able to describe a house determination on the motivations behind the Department of Justice's reluctance to certify the merger.