Collins Urges DOJ to Pay 'Careful Attention' to AT&T/TW Potential Impact

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said DOJ's Antitrust Division should review AT&T buying Time Warner “with careful attention” to the deal's “potential impact on consumers and on competition.” AT&T/TW “could have a significant, negative impact on competition and innovation in the video and broadband market, particularly for consumers in rural states like Maine,” Collins said in a Monday letter to acting Antitrust head Andrew Finch. Collins noted the deal's potential to “create the opportunity for AT&T to favor HBO in marketing and packaging of premium content to its customers, discriminating against competitors.” AT&T/TW also would “encourage and enable” AT&T and DirecTV to “raise content costs,” which would “have a significant impact on rural customers” in states where Dish Network is their “only satellite competitor,” Collins said. If Dish “were required to pay more for Time Warner programming, it would be forced to pass this cost along in the form of higher prices, risking the erosion of its customer base.” Al Franken, D-Minn., and 10 other senators last week pushed for DOJ to reject AT&T/TW (see 1706210062). President Donald Trump praised AT&T last week during a White House Office of Science and Technology Policy-led meeting despite criticizing the TW deal in the midst of the presidential campaign (see 1610240053 and 1706220054). AT&T believes the TW deal "is about giving consumers more choices, not less," a spokesman said. "Our DIRECTV NOW product is a small example of how we can provide consumers more control over the content they purchase, and how, where and when they view content. We have also detailed how the transaction will expand distribution and creative opportunities for diverse and independent voices."