US: TimeWarner CEO says DOJ’s blackout fears ‘Ridiculous’

Time Warner, chairman and CEO Jeff Bewkes took the stand Wednesday, April 19, in the antitrust trial concerning his company’s US$108.7 billion merger with AT&T, adding that federal regulator’s fears that the combined company would black out channels to force distributors to pay higher prices are “ridiculous” reported Forbes.

AT&T proposed the Time Warner merger in October 2016, combining Time Warner’s hefty content assets, it owns cable channels TNT, TBS, Home Box Office, Cartoon Network, CNN, and others, as well as the Warner Bros. television and movie production studios, with AT&T’s 25-million-customer-strong distribution network.

A little more than a year later, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) moved to block the deal on November 2017, claiming that the union would place too much power in the hands of one company and forcing the parties to work out a conclusion in court. The trial, held in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, began on March 19.

The government regulator has claimed that a combined AT&T Time Warner could use blackouts of Turner networks to other distributors to lure customers to AT&T or could prevent distributors from using its HBO premium channel as a promotional tool.

The government has claimed that a combined AT&T Time Warner could use blackouts of Turner networks to other distributors to lure customers to AT&T or could prevent distributors from using its HBO premium channel as a promotional tool.

“It’s ridiculous,” Bewkes said of the government’s claims, according to Deadline.com. “It’s not how it works. If any of our channels goes off the air for any period of time, it is catastrophic for us. We lose a lot of money.”

Full Content: Forbes

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