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U.S. NEWS Tuesday 21 November 2017

US sues to stop AT&T, Time Warner deal

nies have typically had an matter, who could not go more cheaply, over the in-
easier time winning govern- on record, previously told ternet, rather than in ex-
ment approval than merg- the AP that DOJ wanted pensive cable bundles.
ers of rivals. the company to sell either It already has a DirecTV
AT&T CEO Randall Stephen- Turner — the parent of Now streaming service,
son said earlier this month CNN, TBS and other net- which puts popular live
that he would not sell “key works — or DirecTV. TV networks online, and
franchises” of Time Warner AT&T has argued that buy- costs $35 a month and up,
to get the deal done. ing Time Warner would let it cheaper than traditional
A person familiar with the package and deliver video cable bundles.q
In this 2016 photo, AT&T
Chairman and CEO Randall
Stephenson, left, testifies on
Capitol Hill in Washington.
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

By TALI ARBEL
AP Technology Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — The Jus-
tice Department is suing
AT&T to stop its $85 billion
purchase of Time Warner,
setting the stage for an
epic legal battle with the
telecom giant.
The government claims
that consumer cable bills
will rise if the merger goes
through, saying the deal
would “substantially lessen
competition, resulting in
higher prices and less inno-
vation for millions of Ameri-
cans.
” AT&T would be able
charge rival distributors
such as cable companies
“hundreds of millions of
dollars more per year” for
Time Warner’s networks,
the Department of Justice
charged in a press release.
Those payments are ulti-
mately passed down to
consumers through their
cable bills.
The government also said
the combined company
would use its power to
slow the TV industry’s shift
to new ways of watching
video online.
Web TV services are
cheaper than traditional
cable.
In an emailed statement
Monday, AT&T general
counsel David McAtee
said the lawsuit is a “radi-
cal and inexplicable de-
parture from decades of
antitrust precedent” and
that the company is confi-
dent that a court will reject
the government’s claims.
The government’s objec-
tions to the deal have sur-
prised many on Wall Street.
AT&T and Time Warner
are not direct competi-
tors; “vertical” mergers
between such compa-