Cablers plug in
Feds to greenlight AT&T-Comcast merger
Washington insiders say the U.S. Dept. of Justice could clear the $47 billion cable merger as soon as this week. And across town, the Federal Communications Commission sent strong signals Tuesday that it also is close to approving the merger, which will create the country's largest cable company.
Just last week, the FCC turned down EchoStar's proposal to buy DirecTV, saying the satcasting deal was not in the public interest. Union would have combined America's two largest satcasters, leaving only one pay TV provider in rural areas with no access to cable.
The gruff rejection marked the first time in three decades that the regulating agency has turned down a major media merger -- coming under a Republican-led FCC no less.
There are apparently no such qualms when it comes to the Comcast/AT&T marriage.
Late last month, the FCC stopped the clock on the deal so staffers could digest documents detailing the pact struck between AT&T and AOL Time Warner to untangle their joint ownership of Time Warner Entertainment (TWE).
On Tuesday, the FCC said it had restarted the clock, removing the last hurdle to approval of the cable union.
Consumer advocates have fought the merger, saying further consolidation of the cable biz will certainly go against the public interest and result in higher monthly bills. They also had objected to a provision of the TWE agreement giving AOL Internet carriage on Comcast/AT&T broadband lines.
"Cable companies have a monopolistic grip on the vast majority of communities in America. Satellite companies have been able to compete head-to-head with cable because they cannot offer local TV channels in many places," Consumers Union senior director Gene Kimmelman said.
Once merged, the Comcast/AT&T will serve 22 million customers and become available to 38 million households.
Over the weekend, AT&T announced other good news regarding its planned spinoff of Comcast's bride-to-be, AT&T Broadband.
Company said it had received a favorable tax ruling from the Internal Revenue Service that will allow the spinoff to be tax-free to the telco's U.S. shareholders.
