US regulators demand CNN sale to approve AT&T-Time Warner deal

AT&T has been told by the US Department of Justice that it needs to sell CNN, Time Warner’s cable news channel, to get its $84.5bn acquisition of the media company approved, according to three people with direct knowledge of the negotiations.

The sale of Turner Broadcasting and its crown jewel CNN, which President Donald Trump has fiercely criticised as a broadcaster of “fake news”, is one of two potential options put forward by the US antitrust authority in order to sign off on the deal, those involved in the talks said.

AT&T is opposed to selling the TV network, two people familiar with its thinking said, and is preparing to take the Trump administration to court to argue the deal with Time Warner does not pose any threat to competition.

The issue became an extraordinary public dispute on Wednesday, after the Financial Times reported the CNN demand. The chief executive of AT&T, Randall Stephenson issued a statement denying other media reports, which cited anonymous DoJ sources, that said the company had itself offered to sell CNN.

“Until now, we’ve never commented on our discussions with the DOJ,” Mr Stephenson said. “But given DoJ’s statement this afternoon, it’s important to set the record straight. Throughout this process, I have never offered to sell CNN and have no intention of doing so.”