Diverging Fortunes for Comcast and AT&T Deals

While Comcast has dropped its $45.2 billion takeover of Time Warner Cable under pressure from regulators, AT&T’s $49 billion acquisition of DirecTV is moving through the pipeline. At its core, the AT&T deal presents fewer problems for regulators than Comcast’s combination, which would have created a company that is at once a giant Internet service provider, a dominant seller of cable television and a significant content company. AT&T’s deal, meanwhile, would join its regional pay-TV business with DirecTV’s satellite operation, which lacks a robust broadband offering.

The divergence in fortunes signals that regulators are more worried about providing choice in Internet access and new, online video options than they are about concentration in pay TV. Apparently, the Federal Communications Commission sees the AT&T deal as helping competition and aiding the spread of broadband into rural areas that lack service. The regulator hasn’t sat down with AT&T to finalize the concessions for the deal, something that needs to happen before an order is written up and sent to the commissioners to vote. But, apparently, the commission’s staff is inclined to recommend the approval of the deal. The Justice Department is also reviewing the deal, and apparently, has yet to raise any significant issues.