Judge rules for AT&T on key part of Time Warner deal defense [telecom]

open original image

by Jessica Schneider and Hadas Gold

A federal judge has rejected a Justice Department motion to limit evidence AT&T can present in its defense of its proposed purchase of Time Warner, which is set to go to trial next week. As a result of the ruling, AT&T gets to keep one key element of its argument for the deal, after previously losing another significant fight over its planned defense.

In a motion filed Tuesday, the government asked the court to exclude evidence of a November 2017 offer from Turner (a division of Time Warner that includes CNN, TBS, and TNT) to distributors including cable and satellite companies.