Cable TV and Internet provider, Cox Cable, the country's fifth largest cable company is naturally leery of Phone, Internet and video giant AT&T gaining even more strength. AT&T is tryinmg to buy Time Warner and the US Department of Justice is suing to stop it. They have called Cox Communications acquisitions manager Suzanne Fenwick as their first witness to testify about how the $85 billion merger of AT&T and TIme Warner would negatively affect Cox Communmications and other cable and Internet companies.
There has been some discussion of the possibility that President Trump's bickering with Time Wanrer owned CNN may be affecting the opposition of the DoJ to the AT&T/Time Warner.
Attending the first day of the trial was DoJ anti-trust divisiion head Makan Delrahim, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes as well as Cox's Fenwick.
The DoJ contends that AT&T could, through Time Warner ownership, withhold HBO, CNN content from rivals — or make it too expensive. This would drive up competitor's prices thereby making the whole industry less competitive. Customers would likely go to AT&T's DirecTV, if the other video providers didn't have the same choices in programming.
Fenwick said as a video provider, Cox Cable might be forced to agree to a deal with “egregious fees,” to get Time Warner content.
Cox Communications provides Cable TV as well as Internet to several locations around the country. AT&T provides phone service, Internet and video through U-verse TV and DircTV satellite service.
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