AT&T clears a key hurdle in Time Warner deal

TV station owned by Time Warner finds a buyer, easing antitrust worries

US regulators approved Time Warner Inc.’s sale of its only TV station, clearing a transaction that helps ease scrutiny of the film and TV giant’s proposed $85.4 billion (Dh314 million) purchase by AT&T Inc.

The Federal Communications Commission granted Meredith Corp. permission to buy WPCH in Atlanta from Time Warner’s Turner Broadcasting System, according to an announcement posted on the agency’s website. The FCC, which oversees broadcast licences, could have grounds to scrutinise the AT&T-Time Warner deal if the station were part of the transaction.

“We’re pleased that the FCC approved the application,” Art Slusark, a spokesman for Des Moines, Iowabased Meredith, said. “We look forward to moving forward expeditiously to close this deal.”

The price for the station is roughly $70 million, according to a regulatory filing. The merger announced October 22 would create a telecommunications and media empire that will own much of the programming it provides to subscribers of its wireless, internet and pay-TV services.