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Comcast Officially Gives Up On TWC Merger

Posted by Soulskill on from the keeping-them-small-enough-to-govern dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Confirming speculation from yesterday, Comcast announced this morning that its attempt to merge with Time Warner Cable has been terminated. The announcement was very brief, but indicated that regulatory pressure was the reason they killed the deal. CEO Brian Roberts said, "Today, we move on. Of course, we would have liked to bring our great products to new cities, but we structured this deal so that if the government didn't agree, we could walk away." The Washington Post adds, "The move by regulators to throw up roadblocks shows that the government has grown concerned about massive media conglomerates bigfooting rivals that are finding success by streaming content over the Internet, analysts said. And after years of approving a wave of mergers in the industry — including that of Comcast and NBC Universal in 2011 — federal officials are taking a new tone, they said."

13 of 112 comments (clear)

  1. Comcast and Time Warner, a match made in . . . by DickBreath · · Score: 5, Funny

    It is truly sad that we will be deprived of Time Warner getting the Customer Service that Comcast is (in)famous for, while at the same time Comcast getting the forward looking understanding of technology that Time Warner, a copyright focused company would have brought to the relationship.

    --

    I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
    1. Re:Comcast and Time Warner, a match made in . . . by Moridineas · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I know you're making a joke, but I just thought I should add--I've lived in Comcast, Cox, and Timewarner cable areas. I'm commenting solely on Internet service, but Timewarner has far and away been the best. They're rolling out their ridiculously named "Maxx" service in my area in the next month or two. 25/5 will be upgraded 100/10 or 200/20 (I'm not entirely clear which it is). It's no Google fiber, but it will do until Google rolls out next year... I'm overjoyed the merger is not going through.

    2. Re:Comcast and Time Warner, a match made in . . . by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 5, Insightful

      CEO Brian Roberts said:

      but we structured this deal so that if the government didn't agree, we could walk away

      Translation: "We knew it was sketchy as hell, but hey, might as well give it a try! If they see through the BS, no harm done."

      --
      Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
    3. Re:Comcast and Time Warner, a match made in . . . by NotDrWho · · Score: 4, Funny

      I would say it was a match made in hell, but even hell would never stoop THAT low.

      --
      SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
    4. Re:Comcast and Time Warner, a match made in . . . by Rastor · · Score: 5, Informative

      That part kind of got me too, shouldn't all deals subject to regulatory approval be structured where they could walk away? Wouldn't anything else be outright flaunting in the face of regulation?

      What they meant here was that unlike AT&T, they didn't screw up and allow a penalty clause in the agreement if the merger didn't go through.

      T-Mobile made out pretty well in that one.

    5. Re:Comcast and Time Warner, a match made in . . . by djrobxx · · Score: 3, Informative

      That part kind of got me too, shouldn't all deals subject to regulatory approval be structured where they could walk away? Wouldn't anything else be outright flaunting in the face of regulation?

      I think he meant walk away without significant impact. For example, the AT&T/T-Mobile deal failure had very serious repercussions for AT&T. From Wikipedia:

      "Deutsche Telekom will receive $3 billion in cash as well as access to $1 billion worth of AT&T-held wireless spectrum."

    6. Re:Comcast and Time Warner, a match made in . . . by Andrio · · Score: 5, Insightful

      CEO Brian Roberts said, "Today, we move on. Of course, we would have liked to bring our great products to new cities..."

      Hey Brian, guess what. You still can! Nobody is stopping you.

      Oh wait, what's that? You don't want to enter a market where there's any competition? I see.

      --
      The Internet King? I wonder if he could provide faster nudity.
  2. Re:Nice to know... by DickBreath · · Score: 4, Funny

    You can buy all of the government some of the time, and some of the government all of the time, but . . .

    it takes a lot of money to buy all of the government, all of the time. So that option is only available to oil companies and major defense contractors.

    --

    I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
  3. Re:The Government Should Continue Investigating by BVis · · Score: 5, Funny

    You want a big company to actually do what it promised it will do? Why do you hate America?

    --
    Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.
  4. Re:Officially Celebrating by Nidi62 · · Score: 5, Funny

    anyone else?

    Everyone else

    --
    The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
  5. the original release was far less appropriate by nimbius · · Score: 5, Funny

    Ceo Roberts: take a message! "Today, we move on. The heralding of the 6th star of ocorium and the death of all that grows to chew the cud as the mighty beast arises has been circumvented. The runes of pestilence have not siphoned the blood of the babe, as was foretold in our prophetic lore of bundling. Today, we stand apart, our hellmouths never to entwine and form a new dead god. Comcast and Time warner will never be able to take our great products to new cities into which wrack and desolation shall grind the bones of the damned to dust, and succor a distant memory of a world once living. The government has seen fit to meddle in that which they can never understand, to oppose the will of Baal our dark lord and in so doing unlock the very amulet that is the dawn of their obliteration. We structured this amalgamation, or as you laughably know it as "the deal" in a pact of dark blood, an ichor stronger than christs own bleached bones, in that it may be transmutated and reformed should such blasphemous interference take place. Today, we walk this earth upon damned hooves of..."
    PR Executive: ....o...okay....so im just going to trim this up for tomorrows soundbyte o-on....on CNN, is that alri-
    CEO Roberts: Yes it must be hewn into a frame that fits the skull of a black ram to be delivered upon the masses as per the divination
    PR Executive: uh...im thinking...8x11
    CEO Roberts: Yes. use the eights of eleven to elucidate our will to the sheep. Dorris in accounting has a spare ream i believe.

    --
    Good people go to bed earlier.
  6. Re:Nice to know... by NotDrWho · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's nice to know that money can't always buy government representatives all the time.

    Just give them a little more time.

    2017 headline: Time-Warner/Comcast merger approved by a last-minute, late night amendment to the Veterans Administration funding bill.

    --
    SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
  7. Re:The Government Should Continue Investigating by TWX · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Unless Comcast acquired NBC/Universal's property, but not the company itself (like a bankruptcy asset purchase) then I don't see them getting out of the NBC obligations. When a company purchases another company outright it keeps those obligations. One of the big banks that absorbed one of the big mortgage lenders still had to deal with billions of dollars in fines from that mortgage lender if I'm remembering correctly, and if the bankers couldn't get out of it, a few media moguls sure as hell aren't going to.

    --
    Do not look into laser with remaining eye.