AT&T threatens to become the Moby-Dick of the mobile world if it succeeds in swallowing T-Mobile whole, but this controversial merger is far from a done deal -- political pressures and consumer objections threaten to imperil it. And there's more at stake here than a marriage of two companies.
Earlier this week, Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., warned that if the Comcast acquisition of NBC Universal went through, the company may pull NBC's programming from Netflix. Federal regulators approved the deal Tuesday.
Comcast's takeover of NBC Universal got the green light from the FCC and the Justice Department on Tuesday. The deal creates an entertainment colossus in television, movies, the Internet and theme parks. Will it also make Comcast a formidable challenger to Walt Disney's ESPN?
Comcast got an early Christmas present Thursday, when the Federal Communications Commission chairman approved its huge merger with NBC Universal. The proposal comes with conditions meant to protect net neutrality, but vagueness renders the terms nearly meaningless -- and unlikely to inspire much confidence.
Comcast faces FCC involvement in its fee dispute with Level 3 Communications and a new Consumers Union campaign to block its pending acquisition of NBC Universal, but shareholders appear unfazed so far. Shares of the cable giant fell less than 1% Tuesday to close at $20.03.
Comcast will soon control NBC but doesn't yet. Still, the cable giant is moving to put its own stamp on NBC, naming its own chief operating officer, Stephen Burke, to replace Jeff Zucker as CEO of NBC Universal.