Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has a warning for America. The announced $84 billion merger between media giants AT&T and Time Warner is so poisonous to our country’s future that it threatens to “destroy democracy.”
“As an example of the power structure I’m fighting, AT&T is buying Time Warner and thus CNN, a deal we will not approve in my administration because it’s too much concentration of power in the hands of too few,” Trump told supporters Saturday at a speech in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
Peter Navarro, a senior economic advisor to Trump, also released a statement Sunday about the deal.
“Donald Trump will break up the new media conglomerate oligopolies that have gained enormous control over our information, intrude into our personal lives, and in this election, are attempting to unduly influence America’s political process,” the statement said.
AT&T’s $85.4 billion purchase of Time Warner represents one of the biggest mergers in information and entertainment history.
Network-owning companies like AT&T are investing in media to find new revenue sources and ensure they don’t get relegated to being just “dumb pipes.” In addition to the Comcast-NBC Universal deal, Verizon bought AOL last year and has now proposed a deal for Yahoo to build a digital-ad business.
After its attempt to buy wireless competitor T-Mobile was scrapped in 2011 following opposition from regulators, AT&T doubled down on television by purchasing satellite-TV company DirecTV for $48.5 billion. AT&T is expected to offer a streaming TV package, DirecTV Now, by the end of the year, aimed at people who have dropped their cable subscriptions or never had one.
The venerable phone company has to contend with slowing growth in wireless services, given that most Americans already have smartphones. And it faces new competitors for that business from cable companies. Comcast plans to launch a cellphone service for its customers next year.
AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, who will run the combined company, said on a conference call that the deal will allow AT&T to offer unique services, particularly on mobile, though he didn’t provide details. Jeff Bewkes, the Time Warner CEO who will stay with the company for an undefined transition period, added that more money will help fund production of additional programming and films.
Both men stressed that it will be easier to “innovate” when the companies are joined and don’t have to negotiate usage rights at arm’s length. (AT&T, of course, will still have to strike such deals with entertainment conglomerates it doesn’t own.) The combined company is also likely to lean more heavily on advertisements targeted at individuals based on their interests and personal details.
Buying Time Warner may be “a good defensive move” against Comcast as the cable giant continues stretching into new businesses, New Street Research analyst Jonathan Chaplin said in a Friday note. Comcast also bought movie studio DreamWorks Animation in August.
Do you think this telecom merger is bad for America? Comment below.
The Associated Press contributed to this article
Some of these companies are already way too big for a competitive free enterprise system to work properly. AT&T and it’s companies are already a nightmare to deal with and I am a small business first hand witness to their way of business.
Definitely this has to be stopped. We had to previously break up the AT&T – Bell Monopoly back in 1982!
But slowly but surely AT&T is again becoming a monopoly, just like they were before Judge Brown broke them up. They just went around to the back door, formed little Baby Bells, but still had control and slowly put all of the others (independents) out of business. Having dealt with them on their yellow pages I can tell you this is exactly what they did to control the market and set their own prices. They and all monopolies have to be stopped and Hillary sure won’t do it. I can image AT&T is probably good for a few hundred million to the Clinton Foundation and willg et it back b y increasing the cost of services
I am against the deal. There is too much control in too few hands.
And the crime keeps rolling along? Ma and Pa Oduma??? Movin’ to a castle in Arabia purchased for them by Arabs? They can’t take Air Force One, Camels???? What a hoot!
When companies get too big as AT&T was their attitude towards it’s customers is “if you don’t like it then leave”. Trouble is that is no where to go. Fk them. Go Trump. Stop these monopolistic deals. We need laws and regulations to stop the corruption put on us by these mega corps.
I absolutely agree – can you imagine the one sided damage they could do then.
AT&T was ruined by the government when they destroyed the old AT&T which was regulated and prices were kept LOW! Now the public is being ripped off by always rising prices.
Amen to that
Wow! I guess you think phone calls are more expensive now then before. LOL – Phone calls have never been this cheap especially long distance. Also, the phone company owned you. Even if a monopoly is good for consumers now, it will soon change because those in charge always corrupt things for their own greed. Competition is the best ideal for keeping prices low and sparking innovation.
AT&T provides lousy service. I gave them a credit card for automatic payment each month and the jacked up my bill, recorded false cut off and reconnect charges, double billed me and I’m still not clear on how I will get reimbursed for the bogus charges. I have spent an average of 3 hours on multiple phone calls to overseas contractors who were barely conversant in English who refused to transfer me to an English speaking customer service representative. I turned AT&T into the FCC several times to no response but having a bogus person call me from ATT! I’m still trying to divest myself of any connection with ATT. I don’t believe they should be allowed to expand when they can’t take care of the customers they have. This merger is terrible, it doesn’t take into account any responsibility for the customers! It’s a monopply plain and simple!
FRONTIER COMMUNICATIONS: What a nightmare .. Yo CA Gov Jerry Brown!!! Brown has been around for way too long, formerly nicknamed “Moonbeam;” now he is pushing for a “Bullet Train” from S CA to San Francisco .. as if there are demands for this nonsensical adventure .. the only hope to stop it is PUBLIC OUTRAGE ..
WHICH NOW is Jerry Brown’s PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION .. THE COMMISSIONERS APPOINTED BY JB! FRONTIER APPROVED BY CA PCC, swept into CA in early spring with outrageous performance, phone and internet service became intermittent, and “Billings” resembled “abstract art;”
The LA Times reported the outrage of ominous charges, complaints ignored, and FRONTIER NEVER ADDRESSING MISCONDUCT CONTINUES ON ITS PATH.
AT ONE POINT, they just responded to customer complaints by alleging they :”were working on it;” all the time their “abstract” billings in the mail .. and they responded by saying again, “they are working on it;” and true to form the “abstract” billings continued with higher demands each time ..
Something must be “up,” when they have this “behavioral flaw” nationwide; inclusive of Texas and Florida, where the State Attorney General weighed in!!!
And good ‘ole Jerry Brown? Another “Dem;” On “Snooze?”
Jerry Brown is an even bigger asshole than his father.
Around 2003 I had ATT wireless. I was told my plan had mobile to mobile, so I was talking to my girlfriend without worrying about minutes. It turned out I was lied to and didn’t have it. I got the first months bill that was a couple hundred over and I didn’t know why. I called ATT and they could not or would not tell me why – just that I used the minutes. The next month my bill was even higher and I called them again with no help with where the overage was coming from. Finally, the next month the bill was over $700, so I called again. Finally I pushed until they told me that it was between our 2 phone numbers and that is when I learned there was no mobile to mobile. I negotiated a lower charge – about $500. I paid it and changed service and will NEVER have ATT anything ever again. Fk the Fken Fkers and their corrupt deal. The corrupt establishment now has to control 6 corps to control all the media. They want to control all the media with only 1 corp – ultimately.
Yes, let’s undo all those octopuses who want to conquer the entire nation AND internationally too. Master puppets who love the power of (subtly) forcing people to do as they say! It already started to be such a pain if you want to contact the CEO of one company…..nobody knows who it is!!!
Well, there you are another reason to vote for Trump!………………. We must vote for Trump….That won’t happen if H gets in! This country will go down down down if she wins!……………..I’m usually Democrat, BUT this time I’m voting Republican all the way down the list! Just in case she wins, she won’t have it that easy. (although, i’m sure she’ll pay her way to get what she wants!) The rest of the Republicans need to wake up and smell the coffee before it’s too late!
PS: All you girls out there, don’t make the mistake of voting for her because she’s “the first woman”! NOT like alot of people did last time with O’Bama (“the first black”) Think this through!
Freedom of Speech cannot continue to be controlled by only a hand full of companies. Too big to fail, once seen as a problem in the Banking industry, is prevalent throughout most industries increasing a Ruling Class of elites, who propagandize through their businesses. The government should not create an environment through regulation where small and mid-size businesses cannot compete.
I have to laugh out loud when a merger takes place; because the officers are always told not to worry there will be no changes made and within a year, even if signing bonuses have been paid to the officers, managers, etc of the company acquired (because that’s what it really is, an acquisition not really a merger) these same officers and mangers are receiving severance payments. I know this for a fact because I used to pay these out when I worked in payroll. Anyone from middle management on up will be looking for new jobs within a year. AT&T will become the monopoly it once was as Southwester Bell Telephone, before it was forced to become all the baby bells. And one by one SWBT bought up the baby bells, when no one was looking and became SBC (Southwestern Bell Commications), the SBC “merged” with AT&T and changed it’s name to the AT&T logo because AT&T was known worldwide as SBC wasn’t. Then on to DTV and now wanting to swallow up Time Warner. A huge monopoly was again!!!
att&t is nothing but a horrible nightmare too deal with!!!!!!!!!!laverne
Hell yes! I am so sick of these kinds of things happening. Let’s all merge and save money. MERGE. UP go the charges and the “hidden” fees!
Sorry Fran, the more merges occur the higher the cost to the clients. You may ask why? It is because the competition will be eliminated, and when there is no competition, the cost of doing business with the sole vendor/provider goes up as high as they want and whenever they want. Think about it.
The good thing about private enterprises is more competition to keep prices down.
I agree with Debra. When we vote in the first woman president, let’s get someone we can really be proud of, not a criminal and communist! The first black president has been a disgrace to this country so let’s not make the same mistake by voting for Hitlery just because she’s a woman. And, yes, I think all these big corporations buying up each other to become huge monopolies is very bad for the country. Eventually, we will have no choices in any industry, just one big conglomerate controlling everything!
Big brother grows like a cancerous tumor, the thought police at work!
WE TRIED AT&T ONE MONTH – THEY WERE HORRIBLE !! PRAY GOD TRUMP GETTS ELECTED AND BLOCK THE SALE OF TWC – A GOOD COMPANY
The whole thing with monopolies is just that……they have a monopoly and no competition. Competition keeps prices down. And by the way it is the same with the NWO. Once there is a new world order they won’t have any competition. One world bank(IMF) one world government (UN), one world church (WHO), and we will be told what to do, when to do it, where to do it, and IF we can do it. If we protest? Just look at some of the 3rd world countries. It is one thing to have everything decided and provided for you but without any freedom is it worth it? For all you religious people, I believe Christ died to SET US FREE. He must have thought it was very important.
Watching from another country…….please vote for Trump and don’t give up your guns.
If AT&T runs Time Warner as well as it runs its phone business, the consumers will be the losers. AT&T customer service leaves a lot to be desired. AT&T’s pricing only goes one way-UP.
the tv broadcasting news people do not anymore REPORT the news they CREATE it !!!!!!!!!!
AT&T is very poor for Home Customer Service IE installing U Verse, Direct TV.
Then to sell U Verse as a hyped up Internet, ITs NOT its plain DSL.
I pay 79.00 for DSL
Mom pays 42.00 for same DSL.
Switching to cable Internet.
79.00 X12 for plain DSL.
Get Real.
Had many Techs in home for repairs that were Never done right to begin with.
NO Uniform training or policies for AT&T Techs.
Expect worse Customer Service, try the 800 line on your phone bill, send U to India or Phillppines.
FYI.
This is how the establishment controls the MSM- only a few (very liberal) people own almost all of them. My understanding is that they are not all Americans either -another sellout, of course. Please find a way to dismantle them, Donald. Thank you!
You damned straight they are all getting too big, and prices just keep going up. And there are too many foreigners invested in these companies. This can’t be good. Time to bus these companies up.
Has anyone noticed that Bernie Sanders is in agreement with Mr. Trump on this issue. Interesting.
Too big a companys like AT&T & time warner, trying to take control of your viewing pleasure, is way too much of a big brother for me!! There’s a limit as to how big anyone can be, like Comcast back in the mid 90’s as i worked for them!!! Communism is running the show here in the good ‘ol U.S. of A. Stop the communism, stop BIG BROTHER & stop Killary Clinton!!!!!!