Charter Communications Deal for Time Warner Cable Said to Be Approved

[Eugene]

Source: New York Times

Charter Communications Deal for Time Warner Cable Said to Be Approved

By CECILIA KANG and EMILY STEEL APRIL 25, 2016

WASHINGTON — Federal regulators are expected to announce on Monday that they have approved Charter Communications’ acquisitions of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks in deals valued at $88 billion, according to people with knowledge of the review who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The approvals would bring further consolidation in the broadband industry, creating a broadband and cable television juggernaut at a time when consumers rely on the Internet as a utility but see their prices increase with few options for providers.

To address those concerns, the Federal Communications Commission and Justice Department, which are set to announce the approvals on Monday afternoon, are expected to impose strong restrictions on the deals.

The Justice Department is expected to file an order that strictly prohibits the combined company from entering anticompetive deals with programmers that would keep shows and movies off streaming services like Netflix and Hulu.

The F.C.C. also imposed conditions to its approval that are intended to protect the nascent video streaming industry. The agency is expected to announce that Charter agreed that for seven years it will not impose data caps on users and will abide by so-called net neutrality rules, even if the rules are overturned in a separate federal appeals court case.

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Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/26/technology/charter-time-warner-cable-bright-house-cable-deal.html

[Ed Suspicious]

1. Wow. How awesome.

[ananda]

2. And here I thought the FCC was leaning towards more competiton..

.. not less.

[glinda]

4. Well that just makes them as big as the other one I guess.

We have Charter. I will say I am trying to figure out a way to unplug because 75% of what we pay for on cable we do not watch at all if not more. They treat us good though and due to tornadoes they are more reliable.
All large things, Banks, etc...need to be broken up.

[Fuddnik]

5. It sucks.

I have Bright House, just for internet.

They're not the greatest, but they're steady, and they don't bother you. I've heard nothing good about Charter. I just got rid of DirecTV, and bought a couple of Roku's to stream cable.

We'll see how it works out.

[glinda]

6. Direct is far more Repub based. Charter at least has

the capability to keep connected when we have tornadoes. I am pretty dependent upon the local radar sadly. At least we normally do not loose connections.
Do you save a lot with Roku?

[Fuddnik]

7. I'm paying about $45 per month vs $160 per month for DirecTV.

I can order the channels I want. Some free, others pay. Most have all their programs on demand. And I don't have DVR service

But, I use SlingTV which carries quite a few of the cable channels I actually watched. Most shows on demand, anytime. Food Network, AMC,. I get Netflix, HBO Now, and Showtime on Demand.

I get Democracy Now, Free Speech TV, Link TV, the main reason I had DirecTV to begin with. Plus The Real News. You can also get PBS for free, on demand.

No Fox, or bible thumper stations, but you can get them free, if you want them.

Takes a little getting used to, but it's pretty simple once you figure it out.

[glinda]

8. Thanks. Will look into it.

[nitpicker]

3. Link to the DoJ PR

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-allows-charter-s-acquisition-time-warner-cable-and-bright-house-networks

Justice Department Allows Charter’s Acquisition of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks to Proceed with Conditions

Conditions Prohibit Charter from Imposing Restrictions that Impede Online Video Distributor Access to Video Content

The Department of Justice announced today a settlement that permits Charter Communications Inc. to complete its $78 billion proposed acquisition of Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC) and its related $10.4 billion acquisition of Bright House Networks LLC (BHN) from Advance/Newhouse Partnership. The settlement forbids the merged company, referred to as “New Charter,” from entering into or enforcing agreements that could make it more difficult for online video distributors (OVDs) to obtain video content from programmers.
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Under the terms of the proposed settlement, New Charter will be prohibited from entering into or enforcing any agreement with a programmer that forbids, limits or creates incentives to limit the programmer’s provision of content to one or more OVDs. The settlement further provides that New Charter will not be able to avail itself of other distributors’ most favored nation (MFN) provisions if they are inconsistent with this prohibition. The settlement also prohibits New Charter from retaliating against programmers for licensing to OVDs. The department said that it would continue to closely monitor developments in the industry and would vigorously enforce compliance with the proposed settlement to ensure that New Charter does not use the influence it will have as one of the nation’s largest MVPDs to restrict or discourage programmers from licensing their content to OVDs.

The department said it also examined whether the merger would allow New Charter to become an unavoidable gatekeeper for internet-based services, including OVDs, that rely on a broadband connection to reach consumers. The department previously expressed significant concerns about an earlier attempt to acquire TWC by Comcast Corporation, which is significantly larger than Charter, because that transaction would have enabled the combined firm to control access to nearly 60 percent of high-speed broadband subscribers, and would likely have resulted in higher internet interconnection fees that could have limited OVDs’ ability to compete effectively with traditional MVPDs. The order circulated by the FCC Chairman today would impose an obligation on New Charter to make interconnection available on a non-discriminatory, settlement-free basis to companies that meet basic criteria. In light of the remedy sought by the FCC Chairman, the department elected not to pursue duplicative relief in its own lawsuit.
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