Time Warner and Comcast Reach Merger Deal
Comcast and Time Warner Cable announced a proposed merger for $45 billion Thursday morning that would combine the country's two largest cable providers
The deal could help cable television compete with other media outlets, like DirecTV, and internet streaming websites such as Netflix and Hulu.
However, the deal is far from closed. It still has to be approved, and it may run into some trouble with anti-trust laws. Consumer advocacy groups on the USC campus have spoken out against the deal, saying it will reduce competition and monopolize the market.
If the merger is approved, the two companies hope to close the deal by the end of 2014.
USC students voiced their opinions about the merger.
"I'm not happy about it," said Thissan Hader, a Time Warner Cable customer. "Knowing that Comcast may take over my current service makes me nervous."
AT&T customer Alex Gold said he's happy with AT&T U-Verse and "he can't imagine anything that would make me switch to Comcast."
Despite the reaction, Comcast released a statement saying, "Comcast and Time Warner Cable have been the leaders in all the industry's most important innovations for the past 25 years and this merger will accelerate the pace of that innovation."