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DOJ demands CNN to be sold as condition for AT&T, Time Warner deal approval
- beepboopbeep 9y agoYa this seems arbitrary at best and vindictive at worst. And whom shall they sell CNN to? Rupert Murdoch? (accompanied by a sudden deafening silence from the DOJ on mega mergers)
- gozur88 9y agoThey could spin it off as an independent entity.
- rdtsc 9y agoWhy vindictive?
- beepboopbeep 9y agoWhy CNN?
- rdtsc 9y agoBecause with Turner Broadcasting it would too big of a media monopoly.
- creaghpatr 9y agoWhat the title actually means is "DOJ demands Turner Broadcasting to be sold as a condition..." Includes all of these companies: http://www.turner.com/locations http://www.turner.com/locations
- makomk 9y agoAh, but if CNBC put that as the headline they couldn't spin it as part of an evil Trump anti-CNN conspiracy...
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- excalibur 9y agoThis isn't the only article reporting it this way. CNN may be an important part of Turner's portfolio, but it's hardly the only thing in there. The degree of sensationalism in this reporting (amongst other things) only helps to validate the "fake news" moniker that Trump applies so liberally.
- jdavis703 9y agoThe other option is for them to sell off Direct TV and retain Turner Broadcasting... Seems like some good ol' monopoly busting/prevention is finally coming out of the DoJ.
- tssva 9y agoDirecTV and Turner Broadcasting don't compete with each other. Making them sell one or the other makes no sense from a monopoly busting/prevention standpoint. If it was a choice between two content creation groups it would make sense. AT&T has already invested heavily in integrating the DirecTV, DirecTV Now and U-verse TV services. AT&T has made clear that these services are key strategic assets going forward. The DoJ knows this, so it is reasonable to conclude that their goal is to force the sale of Turner Broadcasting. The question becomes why would they want to force this sale. Given Trump's statements it is more than reasonable to conclude that it is to change the ownership of CNN.
- oddevan 9y agoNo, DirecTV and Turner don't compete with each other. BUT Turner owns some of the most sought-after cable networks. It's not just CNN; we're talking TNT, TBS, and Cartoon Network/Adult Swim as well. Without these networks, it's very hard to put together a compelling cable bundle (as YouTube is no doubt finding out now). I don't know what the DOJ is actually playing at, but I suspect it's to prevent a combined AT&T from locking Turner networks to DirecTV (either by fiat or by prohibitively expensive contracts).
- protomyth 9y agoNBC confirmed the Justice Department's demand that Turner Broadcasting or DirecTV be sold before approval of the $85 billion merger. A bit different from the headline. So, get rid of some content or a distribution channel.
- jonwachob91 9y agoI think they updated the story with that information since the initial publish. I'm trying to figure out what assets DirecTV owns that are competitive to Turner Broadcasting assets... Any thoughts?
- tssva 9y agoIt is cover for forcing the sale of Turner Broadcasting. The DOJ knows that AT&T has invested heavily in integrating DirecTV, DirecTV Now and their U-verse TV service together and leveraging them to help sell their wireless services. Given a choice between the two the DOJ is fully aware of what the decision will be.
- jdavis703 9y agoDirectTV, AT&T UVerse and TimeWarner all offer cable and ISP services.
- jonwachob91 9y agoTime Warner Cable sells ISP services. It was sold from TimeWarner in 2009, and then purchased by Charter (Spectrum) last year. The TimeWarner that AT&T is attempting to buy is only television stations and equity in Hulu. No infrastructure. Time Warner Cable IS NOT Time Warner.
- hprotagonist 9y agofrom TPM: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/boom-watch-this-closely http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/boom-watch-this-closely As I’ve noted in other contexts, I believe that as a general matter antitrust enforcement should be much more expansive and aggressive than it’s been in recent decades. But that’s a separate point. The key here is selective enforcement to advance political ends. We don’t know that that is what’s happening here. But given the players involved we have good reason to be highly suspicious.
- wtf_is_up 9y agoNow what does Breitbart have to say about it?
- rjbwork 9y agoHow amazing would it be for Ted Turner himself to buy it back! I think he ought to be able to afford it with his couple of billions if given time to liquidate.
- creaghpatr 9y agoCNN used to be great under the leadership of Ted Turner. Ted can Make CNN Great Again!
- rjbwork 9y agoYeah. And he's expressed remorse at selling it. He did an interview some while ago where he said he is disappointed in the network since his departure, and a bunch of other words i don't recall right now.
- csours 9y agoThe CNN TV lineup treats politics like sports - Team Red vs Team Blue! Who will win? Here are some inflammatory talking heads, let's see what they say. Ooh boy, isn't this exciting?
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- oceanswave 9y agoBezos should come in and buy turner as part of a malicious compliance sort of deal. Would be great to have the turner stations part of Amazon Price Video
- crb002 9y agoCNN is just entertainment. Has nothing to do with ISP monopoly.
- larrik 9y agoThese companies are a LOT more than ISP's.
- oh_sigh 9y agoThe headline is as exists on the article, but is misleading: "Turner Broadcasting or DirecTV" must be sold, not CNN. I'm guessing they are pushing the "CNN" angle because then they can bring up "questions" as to whether Trump is being vindictive against the news organization he dislikes.
- tantalor 9y agoWow, confusing article. Break it down: 1. AT&T owns DirecTV 2. Time Warner owns Turner (which owns CNN) 3. AT&T is trying to buy Time Warner DOJ requires the merger to either sell DirecTV or Turner. Whew.
- pcunite 9y agoPlease correct the title, this is not at all what the paperwork entails ... kinda makes it sound like "fake" news.
- FullMtlAlcoholc 9y agoMeanwhile, Sinclair media, whixh is likely regulated by another agency, is allowed to purchase a significant percentage of local TV stations nationwide.