- Today at DOJ v. AT&T (T -0.3%) brought the government's expert witness, and the foundation to its case that an $85B buyout of Time Warner (TWX +0.7%) would sharply crimp subscribership at AT&T's competitors.
- MIT professor John Hauser said that other TV providers could lose 12% of their customer base in a hypothetical drawn-out programming dispute with a combined AT&T/Time Warner.
- Hauser's testimony is based on online surveys conducted across 1,600 people; under cross questioning, he conceded he hadn't analyzed real-world programming disputes that sometimes show much smaller declines.
- A Time Warner attorney pointed for example to a one-month blackout between Dish Network and Turner Broadcasting that led to a loss of 30,000 subs, 0.25% of Dish's customer base.
- Hauser's data suggest 29% of subscriber contemplating a permanent blackout would switch providers, vs. a baseline likelihood of 16% switching.
- Now read: Wall Street S&P Star Equities See HCP, Inc. As Broker February Favorite
Original article