A lot of people don’t like the Comcast-Time Warner merger, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be approved

The people have spoken about Comcast's bid for Time Warner Cable, and thousands are concerned that the merger could squash competition and harm consumers. But that doesn't mean regulators won't approve the deal, some analysts say.

Regulators may not like how big the resulting company would be, but they may find that competition won't necessarily be reduced, because the companies operate in separate markets, Paul De Sa, an analyst at Bernstein Research. "As no commenter has made the case that Comcast and TWC compete against each other in any major market . . . we believe it is unlikely that the DOJ (or States) would succeed in blocking the merger in Court for violating antitrust laws, and it is improbable that the FCC alone would prevent the transaction from closing by referring it to a hearing on non-antitrust "public interest" grounds," De Sa wrote. Telecom and media analyst Craig Moffett of Moffett Nathanson research gives the deal an 80 percent chance of approval, calling it "very likely" but not certain.