By Jason
Devaney | Friday, 09 Dec 2016
08:05 PM
The problem critics have with the
proposed merger between AT&T and Time Warner boils down to a
"concentration of power," economist and best-selling author Larry
Kudlow told Newsmax Friday.
Kudlow spoke with Newsmax TV's Steve Malzberg on "America Talks
Live" regarding the deal that some say could give AT&T, which is
already dominant player in the cable/satellite market with control
over DirecTV and AT&T U-Verse, the additional power of channels such
as CNN and HBO.
"I think the issue that's being raised and it's been raised by
[President-elect Donald] Trump, is will there be much too much
concentration of power regarding all forms of media? I think that's
something people have to think about," said Kudlow, Trump's senior
economic adviser.
During his recent presidential campaign
Trump said he would oppose the AT&T merger, saying it was part of
the "power structure" he was fighting against.
Kudlow said the new AT&T would have control over both the
distribution of cable and key channels.
"In other words, owning the content and owning the pipes may go too
far," he said.
"And I think in a similar way, you have to think about the power of
Google, you have to think about the power of Facebook, this is the
new media. It's not about The New York Times anymore, which has very
little influence, very little readership. The Washington Post is the
same way.
He suggested that Americans need to be wary of "this big behemoth."
Kudlow, a former Reagan administration official, was a key architect
of Trump’s tax platform and has served as an informal adviser to the
President-elect.
"You have to raise the question of excessive concentration of
power," Kudlow said. "Now, how that shakes out and how the details
come out, we will learn much more as it goes to hearings. But I
think that's the issue, concentration of power."
© 2016 Newsmax. All rights reserved.
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/larry-kudlow-at-t-time-warner-merger/2016/12/09/id/763219