Former AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) and Former Comcast Chairman C. Michael Armstrong spoke with FOX Business Network’s (FBN) Maria Bartiromo during Opening Bell with Maria Bartiromo about the AT&T/DIRECTV (NASDAQ:DTV) and Time Warner Cable Inc (NYSE:TWC)/Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) mergers. When asked whether the prices will be higher due to the deals Armstrong said, “I think the prices will go lower.” Armstrong also discussed whether he thinks these mergers will go through the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) saying, “I think ultimately the answer to that is yes. It’s good for customers, citizens, consumers, it’s good for shareholders.”
Excerpts from the report are below.
On whether prices will be higher due to the mergers:
“I think the prices will go lower and let me tell you why. Remember the conversation about bundles. Now have you ever seen a bundle for a service that cost more than the stand alone service outside the bundle. The fundamentals of a bundle are you put four services together and if each one costs $10 a piece over here, they’re not going to charge $40 a bundle over here. They are going to charge less than that and they are going to have accommodations that are less than the stand alone price, so I think the bundles are going to prevail going forward.”
On whether the Time Warner Comcast or AT&T/DirecTV deals will go through:
“I think ultimately the answer to that is yes. It’s good for customers, citizens, consumers, it’s good for shareholders.”
