Would AT&T’s Time Warner Deal Help or Hurt Consumers? Judge Will Now Decide

By Cecilia Kang

Lawyers faced off over the future of AT&T’s $85.4 billion blockbuster merger with Time Warner for a final time in a courtroom on Monday, sparring over what the deal would mean to consumers.

The Justice Department, which sued to block the deal, argued that the merger would cost people millions of dollars a year by limiting competition. If the judge does approve the deal, the government said, the court should force the companies to sell off certain business lines to protect consumers.

But the companies countered that the government had failed to make its case. They said consumers would benefit from the merger because it would allow Time Warner and AT&T to compete more effectively against Silicon Valley companies like Google and Netflix.

“The only lessening of competition that would occur is if this merger is blocked,” said Daniel Petrocelli, the lead lawyer for AT&T and Time Warner.

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