Comcast, AT&T Mergers On Hold Over Confidentiality Concerns
According to an FCC statement the agency is pausing it's regulatory review "shot clock" pertaining to both Comcast's acquisition of Time Warner Cable and AT&T's acquisition of DirecTV. Why? According to the agency, they want to wait until the legal dust settles surrounding access to confidential data pertaining to the mergers, and the way it's shared with third-party companies with a vested interest in the proceedings.
As it stands, AT&T and Comcast contract and other information is of course shared with the agency as it tries to determine whether a deal is in the public interest. Portions of that data, under strict non-disclosure agreements, is also traditionally shared with third party companies impacted by such deals (for example, Dish).
CBS, Disney, Fox, Time Warner, Viacom, Univision all filed complaints regarding the disclose of any of this data to third parties. Broadcasters managed to get a Federal appeals court to issue a stay (preventing the data from being disclosed) last November, but arguments from both sides were heard in February and a final ruling on what data can be shared is expected within weeks.
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Comcast-ATT-Mergers-On-Hold-Over-Confidentiality-Concerns-132987
https://www.fcc.gov/document/mb-issues-public-notice-pausing-180-day-clock
