AT&T’s Blockbuster Deal for Time Warner Hangs in Limbo<br />Justice Department officials and the state attorneys general are also exploring whether other content companies such as Starz<br />and Showtime — premium channels offered at an extra cost like Time Warner’s HBO — could have a harder time reaching AT&T customers, according to five people with knowledge of the investigations.<br />We’re certainly going to have some concerns.”<br />Mr. Ergen said that AT&T’s purchase of Time Warner would spur other cable<br />and satellite companies to seek deals with wireless companies and content firms.<br />Some employees of media and telecom companies were recently deposed as a part of an investigation by a coalition of about 20 state attorneys general into AT&T’s purchase<br />of Time Warner, according to two people with knowledge of the depositions, who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly.<br />The attorneys general asked whether AT&T would charge competitors like Dish higher fees for Time Warner content such as HBO shows and N. B.A.<br />“Any political interference in antitrust enforcement is unacceptable,” Ms. Klobuchar wrote to Mr.<br />“Even more concerning, in this instance, is that it appears<br />that some advisers to the president may believe that it is appropriate for the government to use its law enforcement authority to alter or censor the press.”<br />The Justice Department declined to comment.
