美国国家公共电台 NPR U.S. Judge Approves AT

U.S. Judge Approves AT&T's $85 Billion Merger² With Time Warner

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

A federal judge handed AT&T a huge victory today. Judge Richard Leon approved an $85 billion bid to take over the Time Warner media conglomerate³. Justice Department lawyers had argued that the combined company would be too big, that it would hurt competition and lead to higher prices for consumers. The judge rejected those arguments, writing that the government had failed to meet its burden of proof. Joining us now is NPR's David Folkenflik, who's been following the case. Hi, David.

DAVID FOLKENFLIK, BYLINE⁴: Hey, Ari.

SHAPIRO: So is this just a complete win for the company? It sounds like they got pretty much exactly what they wanted.

FOLKENFLIK: I mean, if you read the decision, if you see what the judge had to say - that's Richard Leon - AT&T drew a full house straight from the deck. He not only rejected the government's contention⁵ that consumers would be significantly adversely⁶ affected⁷, he put no limitations or restrictions⁸ on the proposed merger - takeover of Time Warner and, in fact, advised the government not to appeal. He said it would be unfair given the economic cost that would - the hundreds of millions of dollars that having to push past the June 21 deadline would cost the companies.

SHAPIRO: Advise the government not to appeal - so this case is pretty much over and the merger is going forward.

FOLKENFLIK: Well, it appears as though lawyers at the Justice Department's antitrust division are reviewing their options in the words of the antitrust chief. But he's basically said he would not stave his decision to allow the department extra time to appeal, although he cautioned that he was not erasing⁹ their ability to do so.

SHAPIRO: And I understand the judge was especially hard on the government's key witness. Tell us about that.

FOLKENFLIK: Brutal¹⁰. He said that there was faulty reasoning, faulty evidence provided by the government's key expert, that there was no proof in harm to consumers. I mean, that's - you know, we talk about what the gains and drawbacks are for various corporate¹¹ players in these things but ultimately, you know, supposedly these decisions are supposed to be not only thought about in terms of the competition that might emerge from this or be dampened by this but by how consumers will be affected. The marginal financial cost that was cited by the government was pretty modest, and even that doesn't seem to have been taken all that seriously by the judge.

SHAPIRO: So what does this really huge merger mean for the media landscape and for other prospective¹² mergers¹³?

FOLKENFLIK: Well, right - and they're a two-fold thing. One of which is there's not only a sigh of relief but a rush of adrenaline, first for AT&T and for Time Warner. This deal will be a huge coup¹⁴ for the head of AT&T. It will be a huge sigh of relief for Jeff Bewkes, who's been figuring out how to deal with a reconstructed Hollywood. Obviously, Time Warner owns not just CNN but HBO, Warner Brothers, a bunch of cable channels including TNT and TBS, right? And they're looking over their shoulders at the behemoth of Netflix, at Amazon and soon at Apple, streaming services that can bypass conventional TV and film studios businesses. And they're saying we have to figure out a way to not only have the content but have the funnels¹⁵ and the pipelines¹⁶ of delivery - AT&T, of course, one the largest telecom providers in the country and broadband providers in the country.

This is going to open up folks making deals. Disney is already trying to take over most of 21st Century Fox's entertainment properties from Rupert Murdoch. It now appears that Comcast, which owns NBC Universal, wants to make a greater bid to snatch it out from Disney. And there are a lot of other companies in other fields. Think of Sprint¹⁷ and T-Mobile, which want to merge¹, which are direct competitors who say, you know what? If this is getting struck down by the government, we stand a much stronger chance - excuse me - by the courts, we stand a much stronger chance of being able to get our kind of mergers through as well.

SHAPIRO: This proposed merger was also unusual in that President Trump¹⁸ weighed in and said he thought it would put too much power in the hands of too few. Obviously, the judge didn't find that argument compelling either.

FOLKENFLIK: Well - and this has been looming¹⁹ over the case, even though the judge essentially²⁰ banished²¹ and banned all talk of the president's remarks. The president, you know, had said exactly what you said, striking a populist tone, in some ways getting the support of a lot of liberals and Democrats²² who think there's been too much corporate consolidation²³ but also seemingly in the same breath invoking²⁴ his disdain²⁵ for CNN, you know, his slapping the label of false - fake news on that cable channel and using this as a cudgel at least rhetorically against its corporate chiefs. The antitrust lawyers went out after him, but they lost. And, you know, the president has been defeated on this.

SHAPIRO: NPR's David Folkenflik, thank you.

FOLKENFLIK: You bet.

1 merge   

v.(使)结合，(使)合并，(使)合为一体

参考例句：

• I can merge my two small businesses into a large one.我可以将我的两家小商店合并为一家大商行。
• The directors have decided to merge the two small firms together.董事们已决定把这两家小商号归并起来。

2 merger   

n.企业合并，并吞

参考例句：

• Acceptance of the offer is the first step to a merger.对这项提议的赞同是合并的第一步。
• Shareholders will be voting on the merger of the companies.股东们将投票表决公司合并问题。

3 conglomerate   

n.综合商社，多元化集团公司

参考例句：

• The firm has been taken over by an American conglomerate.该公司已被美国一企业集团接管。
• An American conglomerate holds a major share in the company.一家美国的大联合企业持有该公司的大部分股份。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 contention   

n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张

参考例句：

• The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。
• The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。

6 adversely   

ad.有害地

参考例句：

• We commented adversely upon the imbecility of that message of telegraphic style. 我们对着这条电报式的愚蠢的留言发泄了一通不满。
• Widely fluctuating exchange rates may adversely affect international trade. 浮动幅度很大的汇率可能会对国际贸易产生有害的影响。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

9 erasing   

v.擦掉( erase的现在分词 )；抹去；清除

参考例句：

• He was like a sponge, erasing the past, soaking up the future. 他象一块海绵，挤出过去，吸进未来。 来自辞典例句
• Suddenly, fear overtook longing, erasing memories. 突然，恐惧淹没了渴望，泯灭了回忆。 来自辞典例句

10 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

11 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

12 prospective   

adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的

参考例句：

• The story should act as a warning to other prospective buyers.这篇报道应该对其他潜在的购买者起到警示作用。
• They have all these great activities for prospective freshmen.这会举办各种各样的活动来招待未来的新人。

13 mergers   

n.（两个公司的）合并( merger的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Mergers fall into three categories: horizontal, vertical, and conglomerate. 合并分为以下三种：横向合并，纵向合并和混合合并。 来自辞典例句
• Many recent mergers are concentrated within specific industries, particularly in retailing, airlines and communications. 现代许多合并企业集中进行某些特定业务，在零售业、民航和通讯业中更是如此。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

14 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

15 funnels   

漏斗( funnel的名词复数 )； （轮船，火车等的）烟囱

参考例句：

• Conventional equipment such as mixing funnels, pumps, solids eductors and the like can be employed. 常用的设备，例如混合漏斗、泵、固体引射器等，都可使用。
• A jet of smoke sprang out of the funnels. 喷射的烟雾从烟囱里冒了出来。

16 pipelines   

管道( pipeline的名词复数 )； 输油管道； 在考虑（或规划、准备） 中； 在酿中

参考例句：

• The oil is carried to the oil refinery by pipelines. 石油通过输油管输送到炼油厂。
• The oil carried in pipelines. 石油用管道输送。

17 sprint   

n.短距离赛跑；vi. 奋力而跑，冲刺；vt.全速跑过

参考例句：

• He put on a sprint to catch the bus.他全速奔跑以赶上公共汽车。
• The runner seemed to be rallied for a final sprint.这名赛跑者似乎在振作精神作最后的冲刺。

18 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

19 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

20 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

21 banished   

v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was banished to Australia, where he died five years later. 他被流放到澳大利亚，五年后在那里去世。
• He was banished to an uninhabited island for a year. 他被放逐到一个无人居住的荒岛一年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 consolidation   

n.合并,巩固

参考例句：

• The denser population necessitates closer consolidation both for internal and external action. 住得日益稠密的居民，对内和对外都不得不更紧密地团结起来。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• The state ensures the consolidation and growth of the state economy. 国家保障国营经济的巩固和发展。 来自汉英非文学 - 中国宪法

24 invoking   

v.援引( invoke的现在分词 )；行使（权利等）；祈求救助；恳求

参考例句：

• You can customise the behavior of the Asynchronous Server and hence re-brand it by defining your own command set for invoking services. 通过定义自己调用服务的命令集，您可以定制自定义异步服务器的行为，通过为调用服务定义自己的命令集从而对它重新标记。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• You can customize the behavior of the Asynchronous Server and hence re-brand it by defining your own command set for invoking services. 通过定义自己调用服务的命令集，您可以定制自定义异步服务器的行为，通过为调用服务定义自己的命令集从而对它重新标记。 来自辞典例句

25 disdain   

n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑

参考例句：

• Some people disdain labour.有些人轻视劳动。
• A great man should disdain flatterers.伟大的人物应鄙视献媚者。