AT&T Would Use Time Warner as a ‘Weapon,’ Justice Dept. Says

AT&T Would Use Time Warner as a ‘Weapon,’ Justice Dept. Says
By CECILIA KANGMARCH 22, 2018
WASHINGTON — The much-watched antitrust trial between the Justice Department and AT&T began on Thursday, with opening statements
that presented starkly different visions for how the company’s blockbuster merger with Time Warner would fit into a media industry upturned by the internet.
Before a packed courtroom with some of the industry’s leading figures, the two sides zeroed in on the case’s central question: Whether
the deal would force consumers to pay more to watch their favorite shows on Time Warner cable channels like CNN and TNT.
The Justice Department, which is suing to block the $85 billion deal, argued
that AT&T, with its nationwide wireless and satellite TV business, could use Time Warner’s content as a “weapon” by raising the licensing fees those channels command.
He said the merger would do the opposite of what the government asserts: The company
would have no incentive to withhold Turner channels, which are owned by Time Warner.
The government said that Mr. Trump did not communicate with antitrust officials on the deal and
that their decision to oppose the merger had not been ordered by the White House.
“If the merger goes forward, consumers all across America will be worse off as a result,” said Craig Conrath, the Justice Department’s lead lawyer.
“The government’s theory is fundamentally stuck in the past,” said Daniel Petrocelli, the lead lawyer for AT&T and Time Warner.