AT&T says govt failed to show price hikes from merger

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defending court approval of its huge merger with Time Warner, AT&T is arguing the Trump Justice Department failed to show that the merger will raise wholesale prices for pay-TV programming and for consumers.

AT&T’s $81 billion takeover of Time Warner, completed this spring soon after a federal judge approved it, is under challenge by the government in a case before the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington. The phone and pay-TV giant submitted its filing in the landmark competition case Thursday.

AT&T, the biggest pay-TV provider in the U.S., asserted the merger will save it money on content from Time Warner’s Turner Broadcasting, enabling it cut charges to its DirecTV customers by at least $78 million a year.