It looks like the government will stop the Comcast/TWC merger
That seemingly ever-looming union between Comcast and Time-Warner Cable looks like it hit another roadblock. The Federal Communications Commission wants to put the $45 billion merger in front of an administrative law judge and issue a "hearing administration order," which The Wall Street Journal says is a pretty strong message from the government that the deal could die. Why's that? Because it's essentially Uncle Sam saying that the business move isn't good for consumers; that whole Netflix situation's still pretty fresh on everyone's mind, it'd seem. WSJ's sources say that Comcast and Time Warner could still make a case for themselves, but it may be too late.
Today's meeting was for the telco behemoths to offer concessions that would ease the government's mind regarding any anti-consumer aspects of the marriage. Based on unnamed sources, it doesn't sound too promising for Comcast and Time Warner though. From here, each commissioner needs to vote on approving the business deal for it to take place -- today's move is among the first steps in what WSJ says could be a very long and drawn out process. But it's not like you were holding your breath on this actually happening or anything, were you?
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