DOJ Models Need to Reflect Video Reality for Appellate Success, AEI's Howell Says

The merits of DOJ's appeal arguing a district judge rejected fundamental economic principles in approving AT&T buying Time Warner (see 1807180064) are tough to see, blogged American Enterprise Institute Adjunct Scholar Bronwyn Howell Wednesday. She said the economic models DOJ relied on have value only when they mirror the real world, but U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon found them based on implausible assumptions. She said the video distribution market, aswarm with aggregators and content providers, is very different from the traditional reseller market Justice relied on and "does not lend itself to a single one-size-fits-all bargaining approach." No matter how "beautiful" or partially correct it is, it won't help if circumstances the model reflects aren't prevailing ones, Howell wrote.