The Federal Communications Commission stymied Time Warner Cable’s first attempt at a mega merger, but its second shot looks looks likely to score.
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler is expected to propose a draft order approving the $55 billion merger of cable companies Charter Communications and Time Warner Cable as early as this week, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal late Tuesday, which cited unnamed sources familiar with the matter.
Conditions would likely focus on protecting online video competitively.
One expected clause would prohibit Charter from including language in pay-TV deals that would restrict content providers from also putting programming online or licensing it to new digital companies, the report said.
Last year, Comcast’s bid to buy Time Warner Cable, which would have joined the No. 1 and 2 cable companies in the country, respectively, collapsed when the FCC and the Justice Department indicated they would fight the deal.