In June 2018, the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in favor of AT&T in the $85.4 billion proposed merger of AT&T and Time Warner. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon presided over the case and held that the government had failed to meet its burden of proof in demonstrating that the merger would decrease competition. The Antitrust Division argued that the merger would result in higher carriage fees for various TV channels, and that the merger would create incentive for Comcast-NBC Universal and AT&T to work together to limit the growth of new entrants to the market. Judge Leon found these arguments unpersuasive, delivering a sweeping rejection of the Justice Department’s arguments, and ruling in favor of the merger with no additional requirements. Judge Leon held that an evaluation of such a merger has to be seen in the context of the dramatic changes in the technological landscape, including such companies as Netflix, and Hulu, and new powerful entrants to the market such as Google, and Amazon. The ruling could potentially have a great impact on the future of antitrust law and tech-company mergers.
The Antitrust Division appealed the District Court’s ruling. Joshua Wright joins us to discuss the merits of the appeal, as well as the greater implications for national antitrust law.
Featuring:
Joshua Wright, Executive Director, Global Antitrust Institute, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University
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