The Department of Justice is calling on AT&T and Time Warner to sell Turner Broadcasting, home to CNN, or DirecTV in order for the proposed merger of the two powerful media companies to be approved, according to multiple reports Wednesday.
The merger, as originally pictured, would combine AT&T and Time Warner in their current states, producing a mega-conglomerate that would house cable channels such as HBO, CNN, and TNT.
According to unnamed sources familiar with the negotiations, the Justice Department will make the selling of either Turner Broadcasting or DirecTV essential for merger approval, both the New York Times and Financial Times reported Wednesday.
“It’s all about CNN,” one source told the Financial Times, adding if AT&T sold CNN, regulators would likely approve the deal.
AT&T Chief Financial Officer John Stevens departed from last month’s confidence in the deal’s closure by the end of the year, saying deal’s approval is now “uncertain” during a New York investor conference on Wednesday.
It’s no secret that President Trump is at odds with CNN, accusing the network of bias coverage against him since the beginning of his political career.
Trump also specifically criticized the proposed deal during his presidential campaign, arguing that “deals like this destroy democracy,” according to the New York Times.
