On Wednesday, newly appointed
FCC Chairman, Ajit Pai, stated that he would allow an independent review by
commission attorneys of his decision not to examine the proposed AT&T-Time
Warner merger because there are no broadcast license transfers in the $85B
deal.
Assuming the position stands,
that leaves the DOJ as the sole regulatory agency reviewing the merger. And, it is likely that, with the passage of
time (last 6-months or so), the deal is much more likely to get approved in the
months ahead, in spite of President Trump’s disdain for the deal when first
announced. What has changed? Believe it or not, there are greater consumer
choices for distribution and content and the providers continue to chip away at
the stranglehold traditional Pay TV operators (AT&T) have had in the
vertical chain. Choices from Hulu, Apple
TV, Amazon Prime, Netflix, SlingTV, PlayStation Vue and now YouTube TV are
formidable competitors, so let them duke it out in the marketplace.
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