AT&T-DirecTV merger likely to receive government approval
2015-05-13 09:36 by Daniela
A recent report from the WSJ sugests that authorities will probably aprove AT&T's proposed acquisition of DirecTV. Last May AT&T offered to buy DirecTV (the biggest satellite TV provider) for $49-billion, to create the largest U.S. pay TV company.
The Justice Department and Federal Communications Commission who review the deal have nearly made a decision. They could still decide to impose conditions on the deal, but don't seem to have serious concerns, people familiar with the matter said. It is expected that the final approval will take several more weeks.
Despite the fact that Netflix had raised concerns about the deal, it has said it doesn't oppose it as long as there are conditions imposed to protect online video companies.
One major concern about the eventual merger is that as the largest pay TV company and one of the largest internet providers, the new company may discourage consumers from canceling cable and getting their TV online. It could also apply data caps, for example, to make cable look more appealing.
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