And creates the world’s largest company people can’t stand? Los Angeles Times:
Comcast Corp. has reached an agreement to buy Time Warner Cable in a deal valued at $45.2 billion, according to people familiar with the negotiations.
The proposed blockbuster combination is expected to be announced Thursday and would create a video and Internet juggernaut with 30 million subscribers and operations in some of the country’s biggest markets, including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
Besides its cable and Internet operations, Comcast also is the parent of NBCUniversal, which owns the NBC broadcast network, Universal Studios and several popular cable channels, including CNBC, MSNBC and USA Network.
But this I don’t get:
The combination of Comcast and Time Warner Cable does not run afoul of any current Federal Communications Commission rules.
However, the deal will probably face intense scrutiny from regulators and lawmakers, many of whom have expressed concern about media consolidation and its effect on consumers.
The FCC — which seems to have rules for everything — doesn’t have a rule against a merger such as this?
The rest here.