Feb 9, 2022 - Economy

U.S. antitrust officials approve WarnerMedia-Discovery merger

Dan Primack

Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday approved AT&T's plan to merge its WarnerMedia unit, including CNN and HBO, with Discovery.

Why it matters: Dozens of Democratic congresspeople, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) had raised antitrust concerns about the deal.

AT&T and Discovery first announced the deal last May, and received European Commission approval in December. It's expected to close in the second quarter, so long as it receives approval from Discovery shareholders (which is expected).
Today's news comes in the wake of the resignation of longtime CNN boss Jeff Zucker, who was spearheading the cable network's big push into streaming.

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U.S. antitrust officials approve WarnerMedia-Discovery merger

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