AT&T CEO Promises Lower Costs If Merger With DirecTV Passes, But Not For Consumers
AT&T and DirecTV are trying to convince lawmakers that a proposed $48.5 billion merger between the two companies--that’s forty-eight and a half billion dollars--and so far the best argument they have going in their favor is the promise of lower costs when comes to pricey negotiations for rights to video content.
It what seems like a couple of lines from an Onion article, Reuters reports that Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) asked AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson point blank if he could promise that these cost savings will be passed on to consumers. “No sir, I can’t,” was the reply.
However, Stephenson did state that he hoped it would slow the price increases for consumers. (What a mench.)
In sum, AT&T and DirecTV promise lower costs for themselves (thereby allowing them to better compete against companies that are already at a disadvantage because of their size), but not any for consumers, and that’s supposed to convince U.S. lawmakers that this merger is good for the market.
It sounds like Stephenson is making a different argument that the one he thinks he’s making.
It what seems like a couple of lines from an Onion article, Reuters reports that Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) asked AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson point blank if he could promise that these cost savings will be passed on to consumers. “No sir, I can’t,” was the reply.
However, Stephenson did state that he hoped it would slow the price increases for consumers. (What a mench.)
In sum, AT&T and DirecTV promise lower costs for themselves (thereby allowing them to better compete against companies that are already at a disadvantage because of their size), but not any for consumers, and that’s supposed to convince U.S. lawmakers that this merger is good for the market.
It sounds like Stephenson is making a different argument that the one he thinks he’s making.
