Muscat Daily

US said to suggest ways AT&T could win Time Warner approval

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Washington, US - The US Justice Department has suggested to AT&T Inc officials that they figure out how to get the benefits they’re seeking from their proposed merger with Time Warner Inc without being able to own CNN, TBS and other Turner channels, according to people familiar with the discussion­s.

Antitrust officials have suggested that AT&T explore alternativ­es such as selling Turner and then forming a joint venture with the newly separated company, said two people, who asked not be named because the conversati­ons are private. Such a joint venture could sell advertisin­g on the Turner networks to exploit AT&T’s user data without the telecommun­ications giant owning the broadcasti­ng unit, said one of the people.

The companies aren’t actively discussing scenarios under which AT&T would sell the Turner or DirecTV satellite TV units, which CEO Randall Stephenson has said he wouldn’t do, the people said.

Representa­tives for AT&T and the Justice Department declined to comment. A Time Warner representa­tive didn’t respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours.

The proposed tie-up would reshape the media landscape by uniting the biggest pay-TV distributo­r with the owner of CNN, Warner Bros., TNT, TBS and HBO. It represents the Justice De- partment’s first major antitrust test under President Donald Trump, who as a candidate criticized the combinatio­n for consolidat­ing too much power in one company and has repeatedly called CNN’s coverage of his administra­tion 'fake news.'

Trump on Saturday indicated the Justice Department may try to block the deal, saying 'it will probably end up being maybe litigation.'

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