Comcast will end efforts to acquire Time Warner Cable - report
Facing scrutiny from the U.S. government, Comcast will apparently drop its plans to acquire competing cable operator Time Warner Cable, it was revealed on Thursday.
Comcast will no longer pursue the acquisition, sources familiar with the company's plans stated to Bloomberg. The deal apparently fell apart after federal regulators signaled they would likely block the merger.
Though Apple hasn't weighed in on the deal, the company would likely welcome the news internally, as talks with Comcast are said to be a stumbling block in its rumored efforts to launch a subscription streaming TV service.
In addition to being a cable operator, Comcast is also a content owner, thanks to its controversial acquisition of NBCUniversal. In approving that deal in 2011, the U.S. government included provisions to ensure that Comcast would continue to provide NBC content to providers like Apple, as its iTunes service competes with the likes of Comcast's cable operations.
Public outcry is likely to also have helped kill a Comcast-Time Warner deal, with outspoken critics like Minnesota Sen. Al Franken taking Comcast to task for the proposed $45.2 billion deal. In an editorial published earlier this week, Franken called Comcast "greedy and dishonest," and noted that the cable provider has prioritized its own content and networks over rivals, such as when it gave its own CNBC network preferred access over rival network Bloomberg.
If the deal had gone through, the Comcast-Time Warner partnership would have created by far the largest cable operator in the U.S.
"No company should be entrusted with the kind of dominant market position Comcast is seeking in this deal, especially when the company in question has proven that they simply can't be trusted," Franken said.
As for Apple's anticipated subscription TV service, while talks with Comcast have apparently faltered, the Cupertino, Calif., company is said to have had better negotiations with the likes of Disney, CBS, 20th Century Fox, Discovery and Viacom. It's expected that the service will launch this fall for between $20 and $40 per month.
Comcast will no longer pursue the acquisition, sources familiar with the company's plans stated to Bloomberg. The deal apparently fell apart after federal regulators signaled they would likely block the merger.
Though Apple hasn't weighed in on the deal, the company would likely welcome the news internally, as talks with Comcast are said to be a stumbling block in its rumored efforts to launch a subscription streaming TV service.
In addition to being a cable operator, Comcast is also a content owner, thanks to its controversial acquisition of NBCUniversal. In approving that deal in 2011, the U.S. government included provisions to ensure that Comcast would continue to provide NBC content to providers like Apple, as its iTunes service competes with the likes of Comcast's cable operations.
Public outcry is likely to also have helped kill a Comcast-Time Warner deal, with outspoken critics like Minnesota Sen. Al Franken taking Comcast to task for the proposed $45.2 billion deal. In an editorial published earlier this week, Franken called Comcast "greedy and dishonest," and noted that the cable provider has prioritized its own content and networks over rivals, such as when it gave its own CNBC network preferred access over rival network Bloomberg.
If the deal had gone through, the Comcast-Time Warner partnership would have created by far the largest cable operator in the U.S.
"No company should be entrusted with the kind of dominant market position Comcast is seeking in this deal, especially when the company in question has proven that they simply can't be trusted," Franken said.
As for Apple's anticipated subscription TV service, while talks with Comcast have apparently faltered, the Cupertino, Calif., company is said to have had better negotiations with the likes of Disney, CBS, 20th Century Fox, Discovery and Viacom. It's expected that the service will launch this fall for between $20 and $40 per month.
Comments
One small step at a time.....
Yesssss
Good riddance. About the only thing I can imagine being worse than being a TWC customer is being a Comcast-TWC customer.
Yeah, what a shiatshow....
Good. Now break up Comcast.
Good. Now break up shut down Comcast.
FTFY
**** Comcast, with respect.
Phuck Comcast
Another ridiculous merger struck down by the mighty sword of the Obama administration. If Romney was in charge of the DOJ, it probably would've been smooth sailing for Comcast.
This is the same administration that allowed Comcast to buy NBCUniversal, may I remind you? The same one that did Amazon's dirty work to go after Apple and the publishers? The same one that's decided not to investigate Google despite serious violations and abuses?
The only reason this didn't go through is that there was too much public opposition. Money only goes so far, the government has to give the appearance of not being entirely corrupt.
Because cable companies are local monopolies in the markets they serve.
Who cares? You want to really do something, remove the local monopolies these providers have...
Go, Stuart Smalley, go.
How about get rid of the bullcrap regulations protecting these monopolies first, since only large corporations have the man power to keep up with compliance. Even Google has had a hard time disrupting the market since only telecom companies are allow to hang cable from telephone poles, requiring Google to bury all their fiber optics increasing costs substantially. Heavy regulations and big government are a large coporations best friend. It may cost them some money to lobby, but it keeps the competition to a minimum. Having a corrupt government whose bigger interest is lining their pockets and protecting their agendas rather than actually fighting for the people whom they "serve" doesn't help either.
Effect on competition: zero.
Because cable companies are local monopolies in the markets they serve.
Less an issue with local monopoly than it would be with nationwide monopsony. The power that a Comcast-Time Warner as a cable gateway could exert over content creators would be far too great.
Thank you very much for this broken down merger. Good for consumers in the long run.
Anyone else short sell Comcast and TW?!
Comcast has alienated so many people with their horrific service, high prices, and draconian data caps, that people wouldn't **** on them if they were on fire. While, in some sense, I admire their brutality, they have only themselves to blame.