Delay Expected for Comcast, Time Warner Cable Deal

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Comcast Corp.’s planned $45 billion purchase of Time Warner Cable Inc. has run into a snag in the form of a lengthy regulatory review that is expected to delay the deal.

Comcast, which is the largest cable company in the nation, aims to create an internet and television giant by buying the No. 2 cable company, which provides cable TV and Internet service across most of Los Angeles County. The proposed deal was announced in February 2014 and is now being reviewed by the U.S. Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission.

Comcast said in a Wednesday blog post by Executive Vice President David Cohen that instead of early 2015, the deal may not close until the middle of the year.

“The FCC and the Department of Justice are continuing their regulatory reviews of the TWC transaction,” Cohen wrote. “We have recently reassessed the time frame when we expect the government’s regulatory review to be completed and now expect that the review should be concluded in the middle of the year.”

The FCC’s delay is due to a pending court case related to the disclosure of video-programming contracts.

Some consumer advocates oppose the merger, saying it would give Comcast an unfair monopoly on Internet access.

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