Stop Whining About the Comcast-Time Warner Merger
After months of being courted by Charter Communications Inc., Time Warner Cable Inc. has agreed to be purchased by Comcast Corp. for $45.2 billion in stock. The immediate reaction was that this would be bad for consumers, who already rank both companies as among the worst in the U.S. Some have even argued that the deal should be blocked on antitrust grounds, because it would combine the two biggest cable providers into a company with about a third of all U.S. pay-television subscribers. Although it's unlikely that the merger will lead to lower cable bills, the acquisition might help moderate price increases and increase U.S. broadband penetration. Time Warner Cable customers could also benefit from getting Comcast's superior set-top boxes.
First, it's important to remember that the combination can't decrease competition because there is almost no overlap between Comcast and Time Warner Cable coverage areas. This is because over the years de facto local monopolies have emerged in the cable market. No one will be deprived of choice as a result of this merger, which makes it qualitatively different from other deals that have been blocked by the Department of Justice, such as the ill-fated merger between wireless carriers T-Mobile USA Inc. and AT&T Inc.