Fate of AT&T-Time Warner Merger to Be Announced

The fate of the AT&T-Time Warner merger, a massive media deal opposed by the government that could shape how much consumers pay for streaming TV and movies, rests in the hands of a federal judge, AP reported. US District Judge Richard Leon is expected to announce in court Tuesday his decision in the biggest antitrust trial in years. The justice department sued to block the $85 billion merger, arguing that it would hurt competition in pay TV and cost consumers hundreds of millions of dollars more to stream TV and movies. If Leon approves the deal, the phone and pay-TV giant would be allowed to absorb the owner of CNN, HBO, the Warner Bros. movie studio, “Game of Thrones,” coveted sports programming and other “must-see” shows. Another possible outcome would be for the judge to approve the merger—but on condition that AT&T not acquire certain Time Warner assets, such as Turner Broadcasting’s CNN, or sell off its valuable DirecTV, or accept curbs on how it deploys Time Warner programming.