AT& T, Time Warner CEOs plug merger on Hill
Disrupting pay- TV model, increasing competition is goal
AT& T CEO Randall Stephenson and Time Warner counterpart Jeffrey Bewkes did their best to convince a Senate subcommittee their proposed $ 85.4 billion merger ultimately will be good for consumers. It wasn’t an easy sell. Several GOP and Democratic lawmakers have voiced antitrust concerns surrounding the proposed merger, as did presidential candidate Donald Trump, who said the blockbuster deal would concentrate too much power in the hands of too few.
But AT& T has expressed optimism regulators would ultimately decide in its favor.
The Justice Department in a new Trump administration is expected to take the lead on the deal, though the Federal Communications Commission might weigh in.
Mark Cuban, the billionaire owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, also appeared before the Senate subcommittee, as a proponent of the deal.
Telecom giant AT& T is the nation’s second- largest wireless carrier and a major player in the pay- TV space as the owner of DirecTV. Time Warner has HBO, Warner Bros. and CNN among the assets in its entertainment and media portfolio. A potential concern is AT& T might give preferential treatment to its own content, either by withholding access or raising the costs of such programming to rivals.
How Trump as president might view big- time mergers remains to be seen. The president- elect met with Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son on Tuesday, possibly raising the possibility thwarted merger talks between T- Mobile and Softbank- owned Sprint might be revived.
Stephenson says he has not spoken to the Trump transition team about the deal.
Meanwhile, in responding to a question about criticism of CNN by Trump, Bewkes maintained that it would uphold journalistic independence.
During his remarks to the Senate, Stephenson insisted the deal will not eliminate any competitors from any market.
“What this merger is not about is con- solidation either in media or telecom,” Stephenson said, adding competition would increase, particularly against cable companies.
“Our intent is to disrupt the existing pay- TV model. We want to get the most content to the most people at the lowest cost. And we want consumers to pay for their content once and then watch it anywhere at any time. Every episode, every season on whatever device they choose.”
Both Stephenson and Bewkes said their companies have a stellar record in complying with any of the conditions attached to prior mergers, suggesting they would do the same if conditions are imposed on the deal now under scrutiny.
Cuban says that as separate companies, neither AT& T nor Time Warner are in a dominant position.
“We need more companies with the ability to compete with Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Facebook,” which Cuban thinks a combined AT& TTime Warner might do better.