Smokey
02-14-2014, 08:01 PM
Comcast Feb. 13 announced it has agreed to buy Time Warner Cable for approximately $45.2 billion, a merger that would combine the two largest domestic cable companies with more than 30 million video subscribers. The two companies aim to close the deal by the end of the year.
The deal would create a cable operator of unprecedented proportions. As of the end of 2013, Comcast had 21.7 million video subscribers, , while Time Warner Cable reported it had 11.2 million video subscribers.
Comcast's buyout of Time Warner Cable was quickly panned by Craig Aaron, president and CEO of the public advocacy group Free Press, who called it “a disaster for consumers.”
"This deal would give Comcast control of more than a third of the U.S. pay-TV market and more than half of the U.S. triple-play market for video, voice and Internet service,” he said in a statement. “Comcast will have unprecedented market power over consumers and an unprecedented ability to exert its influence over any channels or businesses that want to reach Comcast's customers.”
He called on the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission to “do their jobs and block this merger. Stopping this kind of deal is exactly why we have antitrust laws.”
Despite some concerns about the top two cablers in the country combining operations, regulatory objections could be few, according to Collins. He said any complaints from media companies and broadcasters regarding anti competitive issues would be largely dismissed.
Comcast to Acquire Time Warner Cable | Home Media Magazine (http://www.homemediamagazine.com/cable/comcast-acquire-time-warner-cable-32570)
The deal would create a cable operator of unprecedented proportions. As of the end of 2013, Comcast had 21.7 million video subscribers, , while Time Warner Cable reported it had 11.2 million video subscribers.
Comcast's buyout of Time Warner Cable was quickly panned by Craig Aaron, president and CEO of the public advocacy group Free Press, who called it “a disaster for consumers.”
"This deal would give Comcast control of more than a third of the U.S. pay-TV market and more than half of the U.S. triple-play market for video, voice and Internet service,” he said in a statement. “Comcast will have unprecedented market power over consumers and an unprecedented ability to exert its influence over any channels or businesses that want to reach Comcast's customers.”
He called on the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission to “do their jobs and block this merger. Stopping this kind of deal is exactly why we have antitrust laws.”
Despite some concerns about the top two cablers in the country combining operations, regulatory objections could be few, according to Collins. He said any complaints from media companies and broadcasters regarding anti competitive issues would be largely dismissed.
Comcast to Acquire Time Warner Cable | Home Media Magazine (http://www.homemediamagazine.com/cable/comcast-acquire-time-warner-cable-32570)