Charter Communications is close to finalizing its deal to buy Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks in a deal worth $65 billion.

The Federal Communications Commission has officially given Charter Communications the green light to purchase Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks, in a deal worth $65 billion.

The agency said Friday that it had voted to approve the merger with conditions, which likely include restricting Charter from making it harder for video streaming services like Netflix and Hulu to get video content from programmers. The FCC said it will publish details of the conditions in the coming days.

The FCC's approval, which many had expected since last month, is one of the last hurdles to getting the deal closed. The California Public Utilities Commission is set to vote on May 12 to approve the transfer of Time Warner Cable's licenses in that state. After that, Charter is expected to complete the $55 billion transaction with Time Warner Cable and the $10.4 billion deal to buy Bright House Networks.

Once the deal is signed and sealed, Charter will have some 24 million subscribers, making it the second-largest cable operator in the US, behind Comcast.

Source:
courtesy of CNET

by Marguerite Reardon

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