Federal judge approves AT&T-Time Warner merger

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Federal judge approves AT&T-Time Warner merger

2018-06-13 11:21 Last Updated At：11:21

A federal judge approved the $85 billion mega-merger of AT&T and Time Warner on Tuesday, potentially ushering in a wave of media consolidation while shaping how much consumers pay for streaming TV and movies.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon green-lit the merger without imposing major conditions as some experts had expected. The Trump Justice Department had sued to block the $85 billion merger, arguing that it would hurt competition in cable and satellite TV and jack up costs to consumers for streaming TV and movies.

Now, the phone and pay-TV giant AT&T will be allowed to absorb the owner of CNN, HBO, the Warner Bros. movie studio, "Game of Thrones," coveted sports programming and other "must-see" shows. The Justice Department could appeal the ruling, although it said only that it is considering its options.

The ruling could open the floodgates to deal making in the fast-changing worlds of entertainment production and distribution. Major cable, satellite and phone companies are bulking up with purchases of entertainment conglomerates to compete against rivals born on the internet such as Amazon and Google.

Waiting in the wings are potential big-billions deals involving 21st Century Fox and Disney, Verizon and CBS, T-Mobile and Sprint. Comcast and Verizon are also jockeying for position in the new landscape.

A combined AT&T-Time Warner could also get a boost from Monday's official end of net neutrality —the Obama-era rules that barred broadband and wireless companies from favoring their own services to the detriment of rivals like Netflix. AT&T and Verizon now can give priority on their networks to their own movies and TV shows, while hurting rivals such as Amazon, YouTube and future startups.

"The impact from this decision will have wide reaching ramifications across the telecommunications, media, and tech industry for decades to come," said GBH Insights analyst Dan Ives.

The merger would combine a company that produces news and entertainment with one that funnels that programming to consumers. AT&T cast it as a necessary step at a time when people spend more time watching video on phones and tablets and less time on traditional live TV on a big screen.

Leon said the government failed to prove that the merger would lead to higher prices and other harm to consumers. Despite Justice Department lawyers taking their "best shot," he said, their evidence was "too thin a reed for this court to rely on."

Leon added that he wouldn't temporarily block the merger for a possible appeal by the government. The "drop dead" deadline for completing the merger is June 21. If it's not wrapped up by then, either company could walk away, and AT&T would have to pay a $500 million breakup fee.

The ruling was a stinging defeat for the Justice Department. Opposing the merger forced federal antitrust lawyers to argue against standing legal doctrine that favors mergers among companies that don't compete directly with each other.

Another wild card: When first announced in October 2016 , the deal drew fire from then-candidate Donald Trump, who promised to kill it "because it's too much concentration of power in the hands of too few." Trump has also publicly feuded with Time Warner's CNN, calling it "failing" and a purveyor of "fake news." The president's statements didn't come up during the trial.

John Bergmayer, senior counsel at the consumer group Public Knowledge, said the decision could have long-lasting negative effects thanks to "the many other mergers it will encourage." In a statement, Bergmayer called for "reinvigorated regulatory oversight of the video marketplace."

Dallas-based AT&T is a wireless, broadband and satellite behemoth that became the country's biggest pay-TV provider with its purchase of DirecTV. It claims about 25 million of the 90 million or so U.S. households that are pay-TV customers.

AT&T general counsel David McAtee said the company plans to close the deal on or before June 20.

Warner Bros. teases ‘Joker’ sequel, ‘Beetlejuice 2’ and more at CinemaCon

2024-04-10 12:30 Last Updated At：19:40

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Warner Bros. isn’t resting on its “ Barbie ” laurels: The 100-year studio has its sights on a record-breaking 2024 as well, with a release slate that includes a new Mad Max film, “ Furiosa,” Kevin Costner’s two-part Western epic, “ Horizon: An American Saga, ” the “ Beetlejuice ” sequel, and “Joker: Folie à Deux,” which brings Lady Gaga to Gotham City.

The studio was first up Tuesday night to dazzle theater owners who are gathered this week in Las Vegas for the annual CinemaCon convention and trade show. They came armed with stars, including the likes of Kevin Costner, Michael Keaton, Robert Pattinson, Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth, as well as footage and trailers to show.

“Joker” director Todd Phillips showed the audience a trailer for “Joker: Folie à Deux,” out Oct. 4, which brings Joaquin Phoenix back as the violent and mentally ill Arthur Fleck and introduces Gaga’s Harley Quinn. Phillips thanked the exhibitors in the room for helping the first movie become such a big success.

Addressing rumors that the sequel is a musical, Phillips said that he hasn't referred to it as such.

“It’s a movie where music is an essential element,” Phillips said. “To me that doesn’t veer very far from the first film.”

Before its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival next month and theatrical release on May 24, “Furiosa” director George Miller stars Taylor-Joy and Hemsworth, spoke a bit about the prequel and showed some explosive new footage.

“We just finished last week,” said the 79-year-old filmmaker, whose first Mad Max film came out 45 years ago.

This new film is focused on a young Furiosa, who was played by Charlize Theron in “Mad Max: Fury Road,” the 2015 blockbuster that made over $300 million at the box office and won four Oscars.

“This is the story of one woman’s relentless commitment to impossible hope,” Taylor-Joy said. “We see her go through everything.”

Hemsworth plays a warlord named “Dementus.”

The audience was especially excited to hear from Kevin Costner, who will be back in theaters this summer with a two-part Western, “Horizon: An American Saga,” which he directed, co-wrote and stars in. Set during the Civil War, Costner wanted to look at the idea of the promise of America.

“It was the promise that if you could come west, if you could survive it, you could make a home at the expense of a lot of things,” Costner said. “To me, that’s drama.”

The film is getting an unconventional release, with “Part 1” hitting theaters on June 28 followed by “Part 2” on Aug. 16. The ensemble includes Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Danny Huston and “Stranger Things” breakout Jamie Campbell Bower.

“A lot of people like plot movies,” Costner said. “I have a tendency to like journey movies.”

“Horizon: An American Saga” will premiere at Cannes next month as well.

Tim Burton was also on hand to hype “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” the sequel to his 1988 hit, which brings back Keaton, Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara to reprise their roles, and introduces new characters played by Jenna Ortega, Monica Bellucci, Willem Dafoe and Justin Theroux. It opens in theaters on Sept. 5.

Burton said he always related to Lydia Deetz and wanted to know what happened to the Deetz women over the years and was happy that Ryder, O’Hara and Keaton were on board too.

“It was like a weird family reunion,” Burton said.

Keaton said they had discussed the possibility many times over the years and they finally got it right. “It’s good. It’s really, really good,” Keaton said. “In fact, it’s great.”

Oscar-winning director Bong Joon-ho showed a trailer for his new film, “Mickey 17,” starring Robert Pattinson, which will be in theaters in Jan. 2025.

“It’s about a simple man who ultimately ends up saving the world,” the “Parasite” director said through a translator. “It’s a very strange type of hero’s journey.”

Pattinson called the story unusual, funny and bizarre. “I was told, you’re going to love the script, but the part is impossible,” he said.

Warner Bros. is also at work rebooting its DC superhero universe, under the supervision of Peter Safran and James Gunn, who is currently filming the new “Superman” in Atlanta for a summer 2025 release. Before that, the studio is releasing a documentary about the first cinematic Superman, Christopher Reeve, which they acquired out of Sundance. “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” will be in theaters in September.

Three years after the studio’s former leaders made the decision to release all of their films day-and-date in theaters and on its streaming service, Warner Bros. has reestablished itself as a vital part of the movie theater ecosystem.

In December, they made the unconventional move t o release three major films in short order: “Wonka,” “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” and “The Color Purple.” It was done in agreement with theater owners who said that they needed more films. Those movies, domestic distribution president Jeff Goldstein said, cumulatively made over $1 billion globally, and the studio was responsible for approximately 50% of the box office at Christmas.

This year has gotten off to a strong start too, propelled by “Wonka” and leading into “ Dune: Part Two ” (both have made over $600 million globally) and “Godzilla x Kong” which has surpassed $300 million at the box office.

“Storytelling is our business,” Goldstein said. “We are committed to making big, crowd-pleasing, event movies.”