How media mega-mergers may jack up your TV bill, even with cord-cutting

The way you watch your favorite television shows and movies is likely to change, often growing more expensive, after a wave of transformative corporate deals enabled by a federal judge’s approval of the contested merger between AT&T and Time Warner.

Companies from technology giants like Amazon, Apple and YouTube to internet service and cable providers like Verizon Wireless and Comcast are expected to spend billions to consolidate ownership of distribution services and the original content offered on those platforms. Critics including the federal government say such a shift will deter competition and force consumers to pay more, a point the Department of Justice argued unsuccessfully in trying to block the AT&T deal.