In an appalling development for the future of media, telecommunications, and America, Judge Richard Leon approved the $85.4 billion merger between AT&T and Time Warner in full, without conditions, completely rebuking the Justice Department's effort to overturn it. In a stark display of judicial activism, Judge Leon even told DoJ not to appeal the case, thus allowing the deal to close by a self-imposed June 21 deadline, which otherwise would trigger a $500 million “break-up” fee. I guess the judge wouldn't want any executives to lose money.
It's hard to over-emphasize the impact of this ruling. First, the deal itself brings together one of America's largest telecom and cable companies with a suite of valuable programming to distribute on those networks. HBO, TNT, CNN, Cartoon Network, Warner Brothers Studios, a stake in Hulu and much more will now be held by the owners of DirecTV, U-verse, AT&T mobile and broadband, Cricket wireless, and more. AT&T has already started bundling HBO for free for wireless users; the entire idea is to leverage things people want to watch by forcing them to watch it on AT&T services.
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