AT&T, Dish Network and consumer group Public Knowledge have warned the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that Charter Communications’ proposed US$56.7 billion acquisition of Time Warner Cable (TWC) poses a significant threat to competition in the video and broadband markets.
Dish and Public Knowledge filed separate petitions to deny the merger, while AT&T said in a letter to the FCC that it does not oppose the tie-up but advises the regulator to review the transaction carefully.
"The question…is whether the combined entity will, along with all the other major cable companies that have chosen not to compete with each other, effectively act as a single national cable company capable of…impairing broadband service, video distribution, and programme access," wrote Henry Hultquist, vice president, federal regulatory at AT&T.
"Careful scrutiny is especially warranted because this increased [cable] consolidation and coordination comes just as new competitive threats are emerging," such as over-the-top (OTT) video providers, he said. "This emerging competition is vulnerable to coordinated exclusionary actions by cable."
Dish and Public Knowledge took a harder line.
"This transaction will create a suffocating duopoly," said Dish, in its FCC filing.
"The Commission should deny this merger," the satellite TV provider said, because the combined entity would in many areas be the only choice of ISP for consumers, which would therefore empower it to "degrade the performance" of OTT video services.
"The Commission cannot grant this merger unless it can be assured that a post-merger Charter cannot detrimentally affect the programming market, or use its clout as a video distributor to impose contractual prohibitions that would inhibit online video’s access to programming," said Public Knowledge, in a filing of its own.
Charter agreed to acquire TWC in Ma y; its shareholders approved the deal – as well as Charter’s $10.4 billion acquisition of Bright House Networks – in September. Meanwhile, more than 99% of TWC stockholders voted in favour of the Charter deal.
Pending regulatory approval, the transaction is expected to close before the end of 2015.
