AT&T Wins Court Approval To Buy Time Warner

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WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal judge has approved AT&T's merger with Time Warner. He rejected the government's argument that it would hurt competition in pay TV and cost consumers hundreds of millions of dollars more to stream TV and movies.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon announced the decision Tuesday, bringing the biggest antitrust trial in years to an end. The ruling blesses the $85 billion merger, one of the biggest media deals ever. It allows AT&T, a phone and pay-TV giant, to absorb the owner of CNN, HBO, the Warner Bros. movie studio, "Game of Thrones," coveted sports programming and other "must-see" shows.

The Department of Justice could decide to appeal the verdict. AT&T did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Now that a federal judge has approved AT&T's $85 billion takeover of Time Warner, other companies are likely to rush to consolidate.

Tuesday's ruling signaled that federal regulators will have a hard time stopping companies from getting bigger by gobbling up rivals and the programming they own. Even if a company doesn't need to get bigger right away, it might need to do so to prevent a competitor from overshadowing it.

For starters, expect Comcast to make a bid for Fox's entertainment business as early as Wednesday. Disney has made a $52.4 billion all-stock offer for the bulk of Twenty-First Century Fox, including the studios behind the "Avatar" movies, "The Simpsons" and "Modern Family." Comcast has promised to top that. AT&T's favorable ruling would seem to clear any regulatory hesitation.