The judge who holds key to future of media

Posted by Social Science Research Network

The judge who holds key to future of media

By Adonis Hoffman

Federal Judge Richard Leon is not a household name, but he is one of the most powerful men in Washington. As senior judge of the US District Court for the District of Columbia, Leon’s past decisions have altered the fate of some of America’s biggest companies, and his upcoming decision holds the key to the future of the media industry itself.

Leon made history in 2011 by approving the US$38 billion Comcast — NBCU merger, positioning the new company as the largest cable and broadcast entity in the US More importantly, his ruling established a hard-to-overlook legal precedent, which has influenced antitrust law and competition policy ever since.

Today, Judge Leon presides over yet another ground-breaking case with similar themes: United States v. AT&T and Time Warner. A mega merger valued at US$108.7 billion, the deal seeks to marry a major content distributor (AT&T) with a leading video content producer (Time Warner). Beyond the litigants, the media and communications sector anxiously await the judge’s ruling, and with good reason.

First, the case marks the first time since the Carter administration (1977) that the US Department of Justice has sued to block a vertical merger (i.e. between two companies that do not compete). Second, it tests the fidelity of the Trump administration’s new — and some say dubious — approach to antitrust policy and enforcement. And third, it will provide a bellwether for those mergers and acquisitions waiting to emerge from the meadows, including some of the biggest media deals under consideration.

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