Cue The Lawyers

AT&T’s CEO has publicly stated he will fight the Justice Department if it tries to get him to spin off CNN before merging with Time Warner. This sounds like a legal, lobbyist and PR full employment move. AT&T needs to gain high ground in public and legal opinion and do so quickly. Thus, President Trump’s allegations of CNN producing “fake news” have already become an issue. It is hard to say at this point who is favored to win the war, but it is unusual. Normally, when the Justice Department indicates it is not pleased with a merger, there are negotiations and agreements to do spin-offs or the combination is called off by the two parties. AT&T wants content to flesh out its huge distribution platform. Hence its will to fight to the bitter end. It might be a long road. These issues can take months if not years to settle.