FCC sets deadlines for Comcast-Time Warner and AT&T-DirecTV mergers2014-12-04 10:20 by DanielaTags: FCC, Comcast, TWC, AT&T, DirectTV
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has restarted the review of the merger between AT&T Inc. and DirecTV, and the one between Comcast Corporation and Time Warner Cable Inc. The regulator will have 180 days to review the deals and decision is reportedly expected as early as March. In October, the commission paused the reviews after content companies, including CBS, Disney and others, filed objections against commenters who tried to review programming contracts with the media companies. The pause would have given the agency time to resolve those complaints. "We will continue to work with the FCC to complete its review of the transaction approvals in the first quarter," Sena Fitzmaurice, a Washington-based spokeswoman for Comcast, said today in an e-mailed statement. Meanwhile, opposers of the Comcast - Time Warner Cable merger claim that the Comcast-TWC merger would further the holdings of a cable company that is already the largest in the US. "Allowing a single company to dominate 50 per cent of our nation's broadband wires is not only a recipe for disaster, but it also runs counter to our antitrust and communications laws," said Public Knowledge CEO Gene Kimmelman. The FCC will also expect public comments on various aspects of the merger, and will let some reviewers to access highly confidential information that is not related to video programming agreements. Read more -here-
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