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Trump's beef with CNN could spill over into AT&T's $85B deal with Time Warner
Bizjournals ^ | 7-7-17 | Anthony Noto

Posted on 07/07/2017 2:26:28 PM PDT by bigbob

President Donald Trump's threat to block the $85 billion deal between AT&T and Time Warner has yet to materialize. Time Warner chief executive Jeff Bewkes even scoffed at the notion back in May.

However, that could soon change due to the adverse relationship between the White House and Time Warner-owned CNN.

President Trump’s reposting of an altered wrestling video was celebrated by its creator on Reddit. Enlarge President Trump’s reposting of an altered wrestling video was celebrated by its creator… more

Recall how CNN was recently hit with a $100 million lawsuit after it retracted a story detailing how Senate investigators were looking into a meeting between President Trump adviser Anthony Scaramucci and the CEO of the $10 billion Russian Direct Investment Fund.

Consider the GIF controversy from earlier this week, plus CNN's response to the Reddit user who created it, and the scenario doesn't bode well for Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) and AT&T's getting the transaction approved by Trump-era regulators.

Meanwhile, analysts have since been speculating how the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division will view the merger. A recent New York Times feature, titled "The Network Against the Leader of the Free World," explains just how problematic the situation is:

"White House advisers have discussed a potential point of leverage over their adversary, a senior administration official said: a pending merger between CNN's parent company, Time Warner, and AT&T. Mr. Trump's Justice Department will decide whether to approve the merger, and while analysts say there is little to stop the deal from moving forward, the president's animus toward CNN remains a wild card." The silver lining in this could be that Trump thinks highly of AT&T (NYSE: T) CEO Randall Stephenson. During meetings with tech executives last month, Trump gave his congratulations to Stephenson for doing “really a top job."

The president hasn’t spoken publicly about the deal since his pre-election comments, but a Bloomberg report earlier this year cited unnamed sources who said Trump was holding onto his opposition.

The DOJ is currently evaluating the deal. If it feels it would spur an unfair marketplace for consumers, it could choose to litigate in court to block it.

There could also be ramifications on overall M&A activity should "political beef" play a role in winning DOJ approval, Axios' Dan Primack explained. "It also would be sure to spark legal challenges," he added.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: att; cnn; merger; timewarner
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I think it's a longshot that the antics of CNN will thwart the acquisition of TWX by AT&T but investors like stability and predictability - and CNN is about as stable as Nancy Pelosi right now.

The interesting takeaway here is that Trump has a good relationship with the CEO of AT&T. Everyone thinks Zucker will be gone but maybe that portends even more changes at the Crap Not News network.

1 posted on 07/07/2017 2:26:28 PM PDT by bigbob
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To: bigbob

I would love to see TWX dump CNN to Ailes’s widow and former Fox executives plus BOR. It would be great to witness the bloodbath and the creation of a new network.


2 posted on 07/07/2017 2:35:03 PM PDT by clintonh8r (AMERICA! THANK YOU FOR MAKING MY SCREEN NAME OBSOLETE!)
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To: bigbob

If A.T.&T. has any hope of some of us citizens remaining or buying their products, they had best get rid of CNN...if it doesn’t happen, some of us citizens will say bye bye...

My late husband worked for A.T.&T. for 35 years, back in the day they were very concerned about their ‘reputation’ and I don’t think they would blow off $$$ for some fake news cable mess that lies, threatens and is crooked...


3 posted on 07/07/2017 2:35:49 PM PDT by HarleyLady27 ( "The Force Awakens!!!"...Trump and Pence: MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!)
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To: bigbob

4 posted on 07/07/2017 2:38:11 PM PDT by BigEdLB (To Dimwitocrats: We won. You lost. Get used to it.)
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To: bigbob

Beware of Geeks bearing GIFs.


5 posted on 07/07/2017 2:38:58 PM PDT by rfp1234 (DinosorosExtinction)
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To: bigbob

Just more Fake News ‘narrative’ that Trump would abuse his authority.

Every day the media seeks to fashion new lies.


6 posted on 07/07/2017 2:41:10 PM PDT by mrsmith (Dumb sluts: Lifeblood of the Media, Backbone of the Democrat/RINO Party!)
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To: bigbob
Maybe AT&T should hire Bill O Riley to run CNN. It would really be fun watching the heads explode. If Roger Ailes were still alive he would be perfect 😂
7 posted on 07/07/2017 2:42:49 PM PDT by McGavin999 ("The press is impotent when it abandons itself to falsehood."Thomas Jefferson)
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To: bigbob

As I see It, Trump is doing ATT a big favor.

The Tweets have effectively devalued CNN that effectively devalues TWX. ATT will make some money on the purchase.

CNN is to be cast by the wayside. Perhaps some one will buy it on the very cheap and attempt to salvage the wreckage but it will be very expensive.


8 posted on 07/07/2017 2:47:35 PM PDT by bert (K.E.; N.P.; GOPc;WASP .... The Fourth Estate is the Fifth Column)
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To: bigbob

When a corporation tries to blackmail a minor child over a joke GIF (that the child didn’t even make) it’s time to dismantle that corporation.


9 posted on 07/07/2017 2:51:44 PM PDT by TigersEye (Investigate the Awan brothers and Wasserman Schultz)
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To: bigbob

Let the chips fall where they may.....


10 posted on 07/07/2017 2:53:44 PM PDT by dennisw (Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time itÂ’s enemy action.)
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To: HarleyLady27

“My late husband worked for A.T.&T. for 35 years, back in the day they were very concerned about their ‘reputation’ and I don’t think they would blow off $$$ for some fake news cable mess that lies, threatens and is crooked...”

I think you can’t compare the AT&T of 35 years ago with the AT&T of today. It’s already too big and too powerful, and the idea of allowing it to get bigger and more powerful should give everyone pause. When you get to the point where you have a small number of mega companies who have the resources to challenge the Federal Government (and by extension, the people), it’s time for a break and maybe some breaking up. I’d like to have an alternative to AT&T, but where I live they are a monopoly in both telecom and cable. It is sheer lunacy for AT&T to have both a wireline based CATV business (Uverse) and a competing satellite-based system (DirecTV). I mean what’s next? Do they get to buy Comcast and DISH?
Thirty-five years ago, Judge Harold Greene broke up AT&T (separated the local operating companies from the long-lines business). Now, they have put it all back together with the Baby Bells gobbling each other up until Southwestern Bell ended up owning all of them. Then SWB just buys AT&T and voila, it’s like Judge Greene never did anything. And all the while, the FCC sat around with their collective fingers up their collective a$$es, watched it happen, and did nothing to stop it.


11 posted on 07/07/2017 2:53:47 PM PDT by vette6387
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To: dennisw

will


12 posted on 07/07/2017 2:54:53 PM PDT by dennisw (Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it is enemy action.)
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To: bigbob
They could save CNN. First order of business: get rid of Jeff Zucker--the same person who massively botched the transition from Jay Leno to Conan O'Brien on The Tonight Show on NBC.

Zucker should have given Leno a US$150 million buyout (spread over four years). Leno would be more than happy to retire from television with that payment, since Leno still earns close to $500,000 per week doing stand-up comedy in Las Vegas--and many hotels would LOVE to have him on what Vegas hotels call "residency" for a month or so since he could have drawn in a huge crowd to Vegas.

Now, Zucker is about to end another stint at the division President level with disastrous results.

13 posted on 07/07/2017 2:56:58 PM PDT by RayChuang88 (FairTax: America's Economic Cure)
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To: HarleyLady27

The legacy AT&T was a company, technology, and culture like we’ll never see again. They built a global network and just about every piece and part that went into it, and you’re right -that company wouldn’t have wanted any part of this. Let’s hope the smart people in charge now remember!

The reason AT&T wants TWX is the content creation businesses (HBO and the Turner Networks, primarily of which CNN is a part) - and why wouldn’t they be motivated to re-organize CNN so that at the very least they don’t piss off half or more of the potential audience from the get-go? Content that no one sees isn’t worth very much.


14 posted on 07/07/2017 2:58:06 PM PDT by bigbob (People say believe half of what you see son and none of what you hear - M. Gaye)
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To: bigbob

I can’t see Donald nixing it on account of the bone he picked with CNN.

However he might issue some amusing tweets about it.


15 posted on 07/07/2017 3:05:27 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: bigbob

AT&T was once great — SUPER great. OK, they had a monopoly. But their phones stood up to proverbial tanks.

I don’t think it handled entry into the private world very well. It’s now another “OK” liberal-trendy company, as is the half of it that is now Alcatel-Lucent.

But even yet. Maybe AT&T will not be as stupid as CNN.


16 posted on 07/07/2017 3:08:08 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: bigbob

The #CNNBlackmail hashtag is still going strong on Twitter but now there’s a new one just for GIFs and MEMES:

https://twitter.com/CnnBlackmailGif

Hilarious! My fav so far has Trump lighting a ball on fire, which Sarah Huckabee Sanders kicks - right into the CNN guy (Acosta), uh...groin area ;-)

Many more - CNN has unleashed Hell on themselves!


17 posted on 07/07/2017 3:08:09 PM PDT by bigbob (People say believe half of what you see son and none of what you hear - M. Gaye)
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To: bigbob

It should be blocked anyway. This media consolidation has to stop or else ultimately there will be a monopoly of media across the globe.


18 posted on 07/07/2017 3:11:18 PM PDT by dfwgator
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To: HarleyLady27

But can’t you see AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson renegotiating the $85B down for a much weaker Time Warner after CNN’s value tanks? Talk about “it’s all about the deal”, wow!


19 posted on 07/07/2017 3:13:02 PM PDT by higgmeister ( In the Shadow of The Big Chicken)
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To: higgmeister

Or CNN creates such a mess and degrades its value thru these shenanigans that AT&T sees the wisdom of selling or spinning off the cable news part of the portfolio.

Remember that only about 1/3 of CNN’s revenue comes from ads. That’s why they really don’t care what viewers think - they make their money by just showing up on your cable network. From an “undisclosed source” in the broadcast industry:

“In 2014 (the latest year for which I have full data), CNN brought in a daily average of 340,000 viewing households (I’m using households, not viewers here, as you’ll soon see why). But during 2014, an average of 96.6 million households “subscribed” to CNN, each paying an average of $7.32 per year. That equated to $710 million in revenues from cable-TV customers, 63 percent of all of CNN’s revenues for the year. This is money CNN earned regardless of the fact that most paying it rarely if ever tuned in.”


20 posted on 07/07/2017 3:28:19 PM PDT by bigbob (People say believe half of what you see son and none of what you hear - M. Gaye)
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