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Time Warner Cable: No indication DOJ will block Comcast merger

By Danielle Haynes

PHILADELPHIA, April 17 (UPI) -- Time Warner Cable said they've received no indication the U.S. Justice Department will block a proposed merger between the cable company and Comcast.

Bobby Amirshahi, a spokesman for Time Warner Cable, responded to a report from Bloomberg on Friday that the DOJ will likely file a lawsuit to prevent the acquisition.

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Sources with the DOJ told Bloomberg attorneys are leaning against the acquisition out of fears it will harm consumers by reducing the competition in cable and broadband Internet.

Renata Hesse, a deputy assistant attorney general for the DOJ's antitrust division, is heading a group that will ultimately decide the fate of the merger.

Amirshahi told Variety Time Warner Cable has received "no indication that [the Bloomberg report] is true.

"We have been working productively with both DOJ and FCC and believe that there is no basis for DOJ to block the deal," he said.

Comcast also provided a statement to Variety, saying the proposed deal would only benefit customers and competition.

"The Comcast/Time Warner Cable transaction will result in significant consumer benefits -- faster broadband speeds, access to a superior video experience, and more competition in business services resulting in billions of dollars of cost savings," the statement read. "These benefits have been essentially unchallenged in the record -- and all can be achieved without any reduction of competition. As a result, there is no basis for a lawsuit to block the transaction."

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But the Stop Mega Comcast Coalition, comprised of Dish Network, Blaze TV and the Writers Guild of America, applauded news the DOJ might intercede.

"Today's Bloomberg report that the DOJ is preparing to file suit to block the Mega Comcast merger is encouraging. But, we also recognize that the DOJ and FCC review is ongoing, so we intend to continue to vigorously advocate for the formal rejection of this merger, amplifying the voices of businesses, consumer organizations and more than 700,000 citizens who have spoken out against this bad deal," the statement read.

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