FCC stops clock on Comcast-TWC merger
The Federal Communications Commission on Friday pushed back its deadline for reviewing two proposed mergers - Comcast Corp. with Time Warner Cable Inc., and AT&T Inc. with DirecTV.
The Federal Communications Commission on Friday pushed back its deadline for reviewing two proposed mergers - Comcast Corp. with Time Warner Cable Inc., and AT&T Inc. with DirecTV.
The agency cited a pending federal court action involving CBS Corp. and other programmers that have collectively sued to keep contracts confidential during the FCC review. The FCC said it would like this court issue resolved.
The FCC's informal 180-day clock to finish both reviews would have been reached later this month.
"In reaching this conclusion, the [FCC] reserves the right to restart the clock as it believes will best serve the public interest and it intends to provide further guidance as it becomes appropriate," the agency said in a statement.
Comcast spokeswoman Sena Fitzmaurice said on Friday, "The FCC appears to be making significant progress in the review of our transaction in order to bring it to a conclusion. The comment cycle is complete, the economists have all weighed in, and the parties have responded to all of the FCC's requests for information. We look forward to working with the government to complete the regulatory review process."
A recent Comcast filing at the FCC indicated that company officials met to talk about the merger with 41 government officials on Tuesday.
215-854-5897
@bobfernandez1