Word: antitrusters
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...venture must also win congressional approval before it can proceed, since antitrust law generally prohibits joint manufacturing ventures between major competitors. But experts predict that Congress will make an exception for U.S. Memories. Besides the potential gain in chips, they contend, the lessons learned from the DRAM joint venture could show American industry how to become more competitive in other high-tech areas, including high-definition television...
...rivalry hardly stops there. MTV and Showtime are both units of Viacom International, which two weeks ago brought a $2.4 billion antitrust suit against Time Inc.; American Television and Communications Corp., of which Time Inc. owns 82%; and HBO. The action charges the defendants with discriminating against Showtime on cable systems that ATC operates across the U.S. Time Inc. has vigorously denied the charges...
Critics of cable have attacked the present industry arrangements on several fronts in Washington. The measures include a bill introduced last month by Ohio Democrat Howard Metzenbaum, chairman of the Senate antitrust subcommittee, that would limit the number of subscribers that any system operator could control to 25% of the total U.S. cable audience. The FCC, meanwhile, is preparing a report on the impact of cable deregulation that is due out next year. In a separate action, the agency has begun reviewing a rule that bars broadcast networks from owning cable systems. The networks already have interests in cable channels...
...have-nots are leery, and with reason. In recent years the Government has charged both American and United with violating antitrust laws by using the systems to put their competitors at a disadvantage. The Department of Transportation pressured American and United to reprogram their computers to eliminate so-called display bias. The agency accused the two airlines of rigging their systems so that their flight information received more display- screen prominence than competitors' flights. Richard Murray, who heads Texas Air's reservation network, has been urging the Government to force the major carriers to spin off their reservation systems. Says...
Nonetheless, Ohio Democrat Howard Metzenbaum, chairman of the Senate antitrust subcommittee and a vocal critic of big mergers, immediately objected to the proposed combination. He acknowledged that the deal did not appear to violate the Government's guidelines for "horizontal concentration" within an industry, but asserted that those "guidelines are clearly inadequate for a complete evaluation of this merger." The Senator expressed concern about companies being involved in both the production and distribution of cable-TV programming. Metzenbaum noted that in most communities there is only one cable operator. He fears that such operators might rely too heavily on programs...