THERE IS
A NEW DEVELOPMENT IN
THE ONGOING ATT, TIME WARNER
MERGER STORY AND IT HAS BEEN OKAYED BY THE COURTS, SO THIS
$85 MILLION MERGER THAT, BILLION, DID I SAY MILLION?
THAT IS A BIG NUMBER.
THAT IS A ROUNDING ERROR.
SORRY, 85 BILLION-DOLLAR ERROR, IT IS AN $85
BILLION ACQUISITION.
JUDGE RICHARD LEON OKAYED IT WITHOUT CONDITIONS.
HE SAID, ACCORDING TO REPORTS ON CNN, WHICH TIME WARNER OWNS:
TRUMPS JUSTICE DEPARTMENT WAS AGAINST US AND WE WILL GET INTO
WHY HE MAY OR MAY NOT BEEN FOR THIS LATER BUT MAKAN DELRAHIM
SAID:
WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK OF THIS GOING THROUGH?
IS A COMPLETE DISASTER FOR
INNOVATION, CONSUMERS, FOR
THE PRICES THAT WE WILL PAY AND THE LACK OF OPTIONS THAT WE
WILL HAVE AND WE HAVE ALREADY EXPERIENCED WHAT IT IS LIKE TO
HAVE LITTLE TO NO OPTIONS WHEN IT COMES TO CABLE PROVIDERS,
FOR INSTANCE, AND THIS WILL EXASPERATE THAT PROBLEM FURTHER.
ABSOLUTELY.
LOOK, COMPETITION IS LEAVING THE AMERICAN MARKETPLACE SO
WITHOUT COMPETITION, THEY CAN CHARGE WHATEVER THEY WANT.
WHERE YOU GOING TO GO?
YOU CANNOT GO ANYWHERE.
THE OTHER THING, AND THIS IS A BIG THING IS THAT AS WE
LOSE A PLURALITY OF VOICES AND INFORMATION, WE LOSE LET
ANOTHER CHANCE AT A PROBABLY OF ANY KIND, IF EVERYTHING IS
REDUCED TO ONE OR TWO OR THREE COMPANIES AND THAT IS LITERALLY
WHAT WE'RE GETTING DOWN TO IN SOME OF THESE BIG MEDIA
MERGERS, THEN YOU ARE NOT GOING TO GET A PLURALITY OF OPINIONS.
WHAT YOU ARE SEEING ON TYT MAY SORTA BE A CRY IN THE DARK
BECAUSE MAINSTREAM MEDIA IS GOING TO BECOME SO CONSOLIDATED
THAT YOU WERE JUST NOT GOING TO SEE ANYTHING, WHICH IS TRULY
THE INDEPENDENT VOICE, SECURE GOING TO SEE POLITICAL AGENDAS
PLAYED OUT THIS WAY, WE'VE SEEN THAT WITH SINCLAIR AND YOU'RE
GOING TO SEE IT WITH THESE OTHER HUGE INSTITUTIONS AS THEY MARGE.
IT IS AWFUL FOR CONSUMERS BECAUSE YOU ARE GOING TO
END UP PAYING MORE AND THERE IS NO WAY TO HOLD THEM IN CHECK.
THESE ARE MONOPOLIES THAT WE USE TO SEE HUGE LEGISLATION AND
WE USED TO SEE THE GOVERNMENT POINTED AGAINST THESE HUGE
MONOPOLIES.
YOU SAW SORT OF THE MONOPOLIZATION FOR A TIME,
YOU SAW AN ATT BREAKOUT BREAKUP.
THEY BROKE UP ATT ONCE BECAUSE IT GOT TOO BIG AND IT WAS A
MONOPOLY.
THERE IS A REASON FOR THAT DIET GOES AGAINST A COMPETITIVE
MARKETPLACE WHICH IS SUPPOSEDLY WHAT CAPITALISM IS ALL ABOUT THE
AND ALL THE REASONS YOU JUST MENTIONED HAPPEN TO BE THE
REASONS MENTIONED BY THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT IN AN EFFORT TO
PREVENT THIS MERGER FROM HAPPENING IN THE FIRST PLACE.
VERY RARELY DO WE SEE SOMETHING COMING FROM THE JUSTICE
DEPARTMENT IN THIS DAY AND AGE THAT IS ACCURATE AND
ACTUALLY FIGHTS FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.
WHATEVER INFLUENCED THEM BEHIND THE SCENES, THAT IS ANOTHER
QUESTION, BUT I DO NOT CARE, THEY WERE RIGHT ON THIS ISSUE.
I CAN SEE YOU SIGHING.
CHAVEZ KNOW FANS ARE
WE'RE GOING TO SKIP ONE GRAPHIC AND GO TO GRAPHICS 62.
DONALD TRUMP WAS AGAINST THIS MERGER, BUT HERE IS THE
REASON THAT HE GAVE.
HE SAID:
MEANWHILE, EVERYTHING THAT HE IS DONE PRETTY MUCH AS OUR
PRESIDENT HAS CONSOLIDATED POWER INTO TOO FEW.
THE ONLY GENUINE THING THAT HE VOICE AND THAT STATEMENT
WAS THAT HE HATES CNN AND EVERYTHING ABOUT IT.
TO PUT THIS INTO LARGER CONTEXT OF WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE
TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY.
THIS LAST WEEK HAS BEEN THE PENULTIMATE EPISODE OF A
GAME OF THRONES SERIES.
THINGS HAVE BEEN MOVING SLOWLY IN THESE TWO WORLDS.
ON THE ONE HAND, YOU HAVE THIS ATT, TIME WARNER, ATT
MERGER, THEY SHOULD FORM A NEW COMPANY CALLED TW ATT, IT
WAS A GREAT JOKE.
IT DESERVES A HUGE HAT TO HIM, GOOD JOB.
AND SO THEY ARE GOING TO MERGE AND THEY ARE FORMING THIS
GIANT COMPANY AND THERE WAS A DEADLINE LOOMING TO TAKE
BACK KINGSTON LANDING AND THAT WAS JUNE 21.
THEN YESTERDAY, YOU MAY NOT HAVE NOTICED BUT NET NEUTRALITY
JUST GOT ABOLISHED, THE SAME WEEK, SO ALL THE
PROTECTIONS THAT WERE PUT IN PLACE TO KEEP YOU FROM
GETTING FAST LANES PUT ON THE INTERNET DUE TO THESE WEIRD
RESTRICTIONS PUT ON BY A VERY FEW, A SMALL NUMBER OF
TELECOM COMPANIES, NOW THERE IS ONE LESS TELECOM COMPANY.
IT IS ALL GONE AND IT ALL HAPPEN THIS WEEK.
WE ARE NOW LIVING IN A WORLD WHERE CORPORATIONS CONTROL
CONTENT AND MESSAGING, INCREASINGLY CONTROL THE
CONTENT MESSAGING.
IS HAPPENING WITH THE INTERNET, IT IS HAPPENING WITH
PROGRAMMING FOR TELEVISION, FOR CABLE NEWS, FOR INSTANCE.
THIS IS GOING TO BE MUCH MORE DAMAGING THAN I THINK MOST
PEOPLE REALIZE AND WE'RE SUPPOSED TO HAVE ANTITRUST LAWS
THAT PROTECT US, THE CONSUMERS FROM THIS TYPE OF BEHAVIOR SO
NOT ONLY WILL MESSAGING BE CONTROLLED BY CORPORATE
INTEREST, KEEP IN MIND THAT WE WILL BE PAYING A LOT MORE
FOR SERVICES, INCLUDING THE INTERNET, INCLUDING TELEVISION.
IT IS NOT GOING TO BE EASY TO DEAL WITH DUCK
AND IT ALL HAPPENED ALSO ON JUST THE DEMOCRACY SIDE OF THINGS
IN THE SAME WEEK THAT VOTERS RIGHTS ARE BEING CHALLENGED
IN OHIO, WHEN VOTERS ARE BEING REMOVED FROM THE REGISTRIES
BECAUSE THEY HAVE NOT BEEN ACTIVE IN THE LAST SIX YEARS.
I THINK IT IS UNDEMOCRATIC.
IT IS UN-AMERICAN AND I BELIEVE THAT THIS MERGER IS
UNDEMOCRATIC AND UN-AMERICAN.
I AM NOT JUST OVERSTATING IT BEING GERMANIC.
IT REALLY IS GOING TO REDUCE THE PLURALITY OF OPINIONS THAT YOU
ARE GOING TO SEE, AS I SAID AND THEN YOU ARE SO RIGHT DIET IS
JUST A CONSOLIDATION THAT GOES AGAINST WHAT, THIS COUNTRY IS
REPRESENTED A KIND OF FIGHT AGAINST THE SORT OF THING
FOR MANY YEARS.
THE COMPETITION HAS SORT OF BEEN AT THE CORE OF THIS COUNTRY'S
VALUES AND NOW YOU SEE ONE MORE AS WE GET FURTHER FROM
SHORE, YOU SEE ONE MORE THING THINK IT'S AWAY FROM A STOCK
IN JUST ONE FINAL THING I WANT TO ADD.
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE FREE MARKET?
THIS IS NOT FREE MARKET ECONOMICS.
ANY TIME THERE IS ANY MENTION ABOUT WATER DOWN REGULATION
GETTING IMPLEMENTED FOR CORPORATIONS, YOU HEAR
PEOPLE ON THE RIGHT LOSE THEIR MINDS ABOUT HOW THIS
DESTROYS THE FREE MARKET.
NO, MONOPOLIES DESTROY THE FREE MARKET AND THAT IS EXACTLY
WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH THESE TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANIES.