The Federal Communications Commission has approved the planned acquisition of both Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks by Charter Communications following recent approval from the Department of Justice.
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The TWC and Bright House deals will make Charter, run by CEO Tom Rutledge, the No. 2 US cable operator behind Comcast and the No. 3 pay TV operator behind Comcast and AT&T/DirecTV.
The FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has already cast his approval. Last month a state administrative judge recommended that the public utilities commission approve the deal.
While things looked good for Charter Communications just a couple weeks ago in regards to acquiring Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks, some reservations were still in place as the FCC had not ruled on whether to allow the acquisition to take place or not.
As noted previously, the FCC’s approvals comes with a few conditions. The decision is expected at a May 12 hearing.
The Justice Department also said it would support the merger once a court approves the terms. “The conditions are largely extensions of the longstanding consumer friendly values and practices of our company, and based on the commitments we put forward during the review process. Charter will be a stronger competitor in the broadband and video markets, well positioned to deliver these benefits and more to consumers”.
“Americans now face the grim reality of a marketplace where Charter and Comcast have unprecedented control over our cable and Internet connections”, said Free Press CEO Craig Aaron. “In particular, Charter has agreed to not impose broadband usage caps on its customers, to not charge interconnection fees to online video providers, to offer a low-priced standalone broadband product, and to abide by a Department of Justice framework created to protect programmers from the outsized leverage it will now have in carriage deals, including restrictions on its ability to keep programming from being available on online platforms”.
The two companies had acrimonious exchanges in 2013 and early 2014 that ended with Time Warner Cable rejecting unsolicited approaches by Charter and instead finding a white knight in Comcast Corp CMCSA.O , the No. 1 US cable services provider, which ultimately abandoned the transaction.
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Charter has valued its deal for Time Warner Cable at $56.7 billion, excluding debt, and the acquisition of Bright House at $10.4 billion.
