will go through comcast or time warner.e only got a couple seconds here, but the internet is not he will now. equal now. >> it isn't, but the floats the odds against -- loads the odds against startups even more. i think we should be very worried about that in an innovation economy. >> om malik, thank you. we will be right back with our special edition of "bloomberg west: comcast everywhere." ♪ but you are watching a special edition of "bloomberg west: comcast everywhere" covering the potential impact of the comcast-time warner cable merger. i'm emily chang. today, we are looking into the massive media merger that could change the landscape of the cable and broadband industries as we know them. the proposed deal could give comcast control of 38% of all broadband customers in the u.s. what does this mean for the hollywood and silicon valley players bringing content to you online? bloomberg news reporter admittedly joins us from -- edmund lee joins us from new york and we are also joined by jon erlichman and cory johnson. edmu

comcast and time warner cable are defending their merger. the house judiciary committee is holding a hearing. there will be antitrust experts at more as they tried to get a grip on whether this deal would ultimately help or hurt american consumers. congress holds no power to approve or deny the merger. their input can help sway the two agencies that will be making the decision. the sec and the justice department will -- fcc and justice department. >> this will drive innovation. it will also drive investment from our competitors. consumers clearly it will be the beneficiaries. >> a former justice department attorney painted a different picture. >> this merger is likely illegal. the parties know it. that is why they are here, talking about how they plan to fix it. i am here to tell you what they won't, why it is illegal, and why the fix does not cut it. >> joining us now is yang yang. you have been following the hearing. what happened today? what stood out to you? >> time warner cable and comcast executives were in the hot seat. a congressman,

>> time warner cable and comcast were in the hot seat. the chairman of the antitrust channel of the house judiciary committee, interrupted the hearing to explain that they were having air-conditioning issues. that was to explain to viewers that if we notice any sweat, it is not because they are uncomfortable or stressing. it is because it was hot. that was a clarification that he felt it was important to make. -- the grilling was not that intense. by theuld be explained fact that many of the committee members do get political contributions from comcast. as you said, this issue is not for them to approve or deny the stop they were there to figure out whether this is good for consumers. the executive vice president of comcast made his case. >> the ultimate beneficiary of this enhanced competition and investment is the american consumer. specifically, comcast will bring time warner cable customers faster internet speeds, more programming choices, more robust wi-fi, and our best in class operating system. business customers will benefit as we

he first adjoins time warner in 2005. since that time, he has served the company in various capacities, including president am a chief operating officer, chief financial officer -- prior to joining, he held various positions at time warner inc.. including senior vice president of mergers and acquisitions. before joining, he practiced law. mr. marcus received his ba in magna cum laude from brown university and jd from columbia law school. he was editor of the columbia law review. welcome. our next witness, mr. matthew polka, is president of the american cable association and 850 member nonprofit

timebility of comcast and warner will create a bigger disparity in pricing between and all time warner, other multi-video programming distributors who by programming to the national cooperative. comcast will pay a lower rate. the disparity in ice is between comcast and our members will increase. so small companies would see an increase, while comcast will see a decrease. >> that is what we expect to occur. schaeffer, i -- would like to ask you a question about interconnection. --t effect would be merger and the merger have in marketplace negotiations? >> it would have a significant impact. comcast would control access to a greater number of consumers. consumers, when they enter into a contract to buy a broadband, they don't mortgage their eyeballs. the comcast feels they do. patrick, i was interested with your testimony. what was the reason they cite -- dropped you? mr. cohen's explanation that it was a bandwidth issue. the thing that concerns me is it is now the policy -- are they going to be dropping independent channels when they need withoutd -- band with regard to support from the

the fact is comcast and time warner cable to compete. that is what brian roberts, the comcast ceo, told the senate judiciary committee in comcast's last megamerger with nbc universal and mr. roberts was right. the two companies compete in a number of ways. they compete to carry local and regional sports teams and they compete for advertising dollars. mr. chairman, to help illustrate how sports programming in particular would be abused post merger i would ask unanimous consent to submit for the record an article by former bush administration official brad blakeman. the article explains in detail the impact of the merger on sports and sports fans and is highly relevant here. >> without objection, all the witnesses can introduce the extraneous material and records and end of the record. >> as for cable advertisers, if this merger goes through there are less choices including smaller, local advertisers in your district omega shutout entirely. they have a multitude of choices for how they get broadband. you have heard that today. at an invest

, but the fact is, comcast and time warner cable to compete. that is what brian roberts, the comcast ceo, told the senate judiciary committee in comcast's megamerger with nbc universal. mr. roberts was right. they compete in a number of ways. they can be to carry local and regional sports teams and they compete for advertising dollars. mr. chairman, to help illustrate how sports programming would be abused post merger, i would ask unanimous consent to submit for the record and article i former bush administration official brad lightman. it explains the impact of the merger and is highly relevant. >> without objection, all the witnesses and introduced any extraneous materials or records. >> thank you. as for cable advertisers, they will have less choices if this merger goes through, including smaller local advertisers in your districts who may get shut out entirely. comcast says people have a multitude of choices for how they get broadband. you have heard that here today. at an investment conference in 2011, mr. roberts said that comcast had onl

and time warner cable.o determine ultimately whether the merger should proceed as proposed to be modified or denied. that responsibility lies with the other branches in the federal government. and most particularly it involves the department of justice and the federal communications commission. we are here to provide a public forum in which to discuss potential benefits and harms to the american consumer and to competition that could result from a merger between the countries largest cable companies. in doing so the committee will perform an important function for the public that is historically provided for cement to the trust jurisdiction. the transparency that the companies open hearing serves a vital role in any association of the proposed merger's potential impact on consumers. one of the issues in the public examination of the proposed merger is how the size of the combined companies will impact competition and choice in voice video and broadband markets. as separate entities comcast and time warner c

>> warner: definitely changed, gwen. i mean there are a lot of rumors today, for instance at one point we were told that the railway station was seized by separatists. when we got there, they hadn't been but the administration building has. so that showed the separatists can pretty much move at will. number two, when we got to that occupied government building that's just where we had interviewed this wealthy olygarch governor appointed by key eve. he boasted how they had taken back the building. now completely filled by russian occupiers or local russian sympathizing occupiers. and on the top floor there were definitely guys with guns speaking in true russian accents. number 3 and was ominously one of the last remaining electoral commission offices preparing for the sunday election, declared today it was shutting down after having guys come in, threaten them, steal their computers. and have a-- having had a nearby office shutdown. so none of this is great and feels a little menacing as it comes to next sunday's election

they are the ones who make the decision on the comcast and time warner deal.bjections known right away when i first heard about that and i have sent. i will continue doing that. i try to raise those during our hearing. so, i don't want this to happen and i am doing everything i can to stop it. >> it sounds like your concerns are very strongly about business. and the business opportunities that would go away after the merger. >> exactly. that is why doj has to look at the antitrust aspects of this and why fcc has to look at if this is in the public interest. that is what they have to measure the spy and they have failed. >> all right, senator franken is joining us from washington. thank you so much. we will continue to follow both of these mergers as they play out. thank you so much for watching this edition of "bloomberg west." cory, have a wonderful day and we will see you later. ♪ >> welcome to "money clips." we are taking a look at today's menu -- world violence is spreading in eastern ukraine. we will spend the day in the city. we will hear from the ceo. t

it may be dangerous. >> warner: and why are you uneasy?e many threats and many rumors that there will be no election and donetsk republic has officially claimed since we are not part of ukraine any more, people should not go vote. >> warner: 70-year-old retired chemistry-- chemistry professor had wanted to be an election worker. now she says she won't even vote because of the danger. >> it's war here. and it is possible there will be people with automatic guns. i'm just a woman and i'm scared. >> warner: journalist blogger dennis who insisted on talking out of sight in the woods thinks enough east ukrainians will stay away to cast doubts on the legitimacy of the whole election. what will be the consequences for ukraine if this election can't go forward as you predict here in the east? >> i guess this territory will be like a gray zone, like a failed state. and it will be like such zone like-- between ukraine and russia and it will be very bad for this region because all the industry will be stopped. and it will be great economic crisis her

he first adjoins time warner in 2005. since that time, he has served the company in various capacities, including president am a chief operating officer, chief financial officer -- prior to joining, he held various positions at time warner inc.. vice presidentr of mergers and acquisitions. before joining, he practiced law . his ba in received magna cum laude from brown university and jd from columbia law school. he was editor of the columbia law review. welcome. our next witness, mr. matthew polka, is president of the american cable association and 850 member nonprofit associations whose members serve subscribers in small rural markets. prior to joining the association, he was vice president and general counsel for star cable so see its. -- associates. he received his jd from pacific -- pittsburgh university school of law. of the lawpient school's most distinguished graduate award. welcome. witness waste this -- of columbia law school. professor where his research examines the balance between innovation and competition se

at the end of the movie, the head of warner bros.that time who shall be nameless, he grabbed me, i think it was ted daschle he -- ashley. the collarme by and he said write, no farting. no horse, you can't punch a horse. the n-word, you can see that word. 22 notes. if i took all of that out i would have a 13 minute movie. there would be nothing left. i promised him i would do it and the minute he left, i took the page and i threw it all the way across the managers office into the waste paper basket. filing, and we never touched a thing. that movie was a big success and never stopped, it never stopped working. i saw the other night at the chinese theater on a big screen. that is the way you should see that. it is a big western, on a big screen. aople leaving their chairs am rolling on the ground. i have never seen anything, laughing. it was -- brought tears to my eyes because they did not pay. they got it for nothing. but otherwise. tavis: for those of us who know this back story, the real hard-core fans know that cleavon little did a

chief foreign affairs correspondent margaret warner has that story. >> warner: smokestacks dominate theizon of mariupol, belching acrid smoke from the heavy industries that are the economic lifeblood of this seaside southeast ukrainian city near the russian border. but it was real blood spilled 11 days ago in a gun battle at a police station, under still disputed circumstances, leaving up to 20 dead, that made mariupol the latest flashpoint in the standoff between russian- backed eastern separatists and the central government in kiev. kiev had sent elite forces here to reassert control, and they and their tanks still maintain checkpoints on the city's outskirts. but now there's a new security game in town. the overwhelmed local police, who've been forced to this new precinct across town, have been joined by thousands of steelworkers in patrolling the streets. this morning, they were lining up in their new standard formation: two blue-hats, and six hardhats. 46-year-old sergiy boev, a former red army soldier, is one of the plant workers now walking the beat. his day job is with metinvest

for time warner cable and comcast, we have david cohen of comcast.nd robert mark, ceo of time warner cable, representing the merger. they are here to really stress three points. pro competition, proconsumer, and pro-public interest. the three p's. they actually submitted the same exact written testimony as they submitted last time around when they made their case before a senate committee last month. no major changes on that front. is thing they are stressing that there is no overlap of the geographical coverage of time warner cable or comcast. they say this is not an issue of competition. we will hear from those who are opposed from the merger, we have three groups. american cable association, the rural media group, and another group. each representing a different stakeholder in this today. an internet provider, a small media company, and then a rural network. all stakeholders will be represented but lawmakers are really looking to see what this will mean for consumers. the big question they will have is will americans see their cable bills rise. th

alex steele joined me again with some breaking news on time warner. >> time warner is actually spinninge incorporated on may the -- may 23. it will be listed under the eie.r time what does this leave time warner with? media division, cable tv, network, movie division -- and of course, your member the lego movie came out and helped to boost was quarter earnings for time warner. shareholders will get shares of the new company as of may 23. >> we will continue to follow this story throughout the day here on bloomberg television. let's check some of the top stories we are following for you at this hour. the number of americans seeking unemployment benefits fell by 26,000 last week to 319,000. its latest sign that the job market is slowly improvement in -- improving. it looks like mostly temporary lay offs around the east are holiday. allocations are a proxy for laos, so the klein suggests companies are cutting fewer jobs. the abduction of 276 schoolgirls from their dormitories by the islamist militant group boko garneringbeen attention. protests were held across nigeria. and here at home, f

how will the combined company stack up next to comcast/time warner cable? what will it mean for you, the consumer? google is trying to get in the game. the tech giant is reportedly in talks to buy twitch. will an acquisition be a game changer for google's youtube, and would it move the needle for google's shares? "countdown to the closing bell" starts right now. ♪ ♪ liz: good afternoon, everybody, i'm liz claman. it is the last hour of trading, and some beaten-down internet and tech stocks are today leading the pack. remember trip adviser getting hammered a couple of sessions, both last week and the week before? look at it, today up 5.25%. netflix jumping 4%. very nice move. and pandora having a good couple of sessions, up 4.25%. that's helping the nasdaq do rather nicely, gaining 32 points at the moment, three-quarters of a percent. nice move to the upside. that means it has risen two of the last three weeks. look at the russell 2000, up about three-quarters of a percent. and, of course, the dow jones industrials up 18 points at the moment to 16,509. the d

time warner is following in the foot steps of other giants.like viacom and cbs and news corp and 21st century fox. >> it puts them back in a place where the dynamics no film production and distribution and television production and television distribution are much more interesting to investors. much less capital intensive in many cases. and certainly investors have responded very favorably in each of these companies to these different dynamics. >> the question now will be whether timing can stand on its own and attract investors because the publishing industry continues to struggle as more people abandon hard copy in favor of the web where they can access the same content for free. for "nightly business report," i'm morgan brennan. >>> harsh words from russian president vladimir putin and president obama at the annual forum in st. petersburg, russia. putin admitted that the encroachment into the ukraine is already affecting the economy. >> an apparent softening of the russian president saw the ruble spike to a high. but the president had harsh

period. >> warner: even if they're ukrainian? >> ( translated ): it's hard to say, even if they're ukrainian citizens, they are not true ukrainians. >> warner: today, on the maidan first-time voter ivanna bober said poroshenko must follow words with action. >> ( translated ): i have gone voting and i really want for better changes to happen in ukraine, not with words and promises but with real active changes. since young people have laid down their lives for this. >> warner: incoming mayor klitschko said today that while those killed here must be honored, the square needs to be cleared for normal life to return. that didn't sit well with aleksey sotnik. >> ( translated ): i will stand here till the end. for what did people die, for this new crowd to take their seats, and that's it? if they're starting to get rid of maidan, then they are very mistaken. >> warner: only one of many challenges this new team faces in the days to come. >> woodruff: i spoke to margaret a short time ago. welcome, marg ret. so tell us what the latest is o

chief foreign affairs correspondent margaret warner has the story. >> warner: weekend clashes across eastern ukraine are just the latest flash-points in a long struggle over the nation's future. ever since pro-western demonstrators ousted president viktor yanukovych, a russian ally, in late february. for those protesters, and the transitional government now in charge, ukraine's future lies with europe and the west. but for many in ukraine, especially in the heavily russian-speaking east, vladmir putin's russia, and echoes of ukraine's soviet past, hold more appeal. putin used such sentiments to justify the invasion and annexation of crimea. putin has made clear the pride of place ukraine holds in russia's identity. but he also argues that the post-cold-war expansion of west's military alliance, n.a.t.o., is spurring his actions in ukraine. since the soviet union dissolved 23 years ago, n.a.t.o.'s ranks have swelled to encompass many former warsaw pact satellite states in eastern europe, and three former soviet republics, in the baltics during a televised call-in show last month, puti

think comcast and time warner cable.all these deals affect the companies that provide the content like disney? jon erlichman spoke with jay rasulo at the cfo conference. take a listen. >> whether it is that merger that may happen or the comcast and time warner cable merger, there is no surprise that there is consolidation in that space. we have strong relationships with all of those companies that are involved in those mergers. like everyone else, we are in the process of analyzing and trying to understand how that will affect the ecosystem down the road. we don't have anything that we want to say. we want to look at the implications to us. it is very early days for those announcements area. >> what about the acquisitions you make? beyond doing the deal, there is integration and part of your job involves bringing these companies together. you said in the case of marvel, it is a different process and doing it versus how you do it. maybe lucasfilm which brought you the star wars brand. what is the process? >> we have done

we love time warner. sometimes people are caught in the middle. i want to say i hope we can resolve the fact that our nottown baseball team is currently seen in all of our box sets. we love the dodgers. we love time warner. icon everyone to resolve a not so i can get my dodgers every single day. despite that, cities do not regulate hearing california anymore. mayorsmmitted with the of this country. 16 of us were elected to big cities this past year. we came together at the white house to talk about an agenda. there is a book out right now called "if mayors ruled the world." we sometimes assume it is innovation will happen at the local level. i invite you to innovate. get a new program, access to a new audience that is not your users. bring a tear. if you have a company like showtime, we want you to film here. we are working with showtime to sex" back tos of los angeles from new york. i hope that you will look at what you can create in the content you are making. forangeles has always stood openness. it is always did for the diversity of this world

comcast is bidding to buy time warner cable.uyout would reshape the country's media landscape in both pay tv and broadband. comcast could sell or spent off its subscribers as part of the deal. this would still be the biggest cable operator. they would have about 30 million customers, reaching one in three american homes. the merger would also put comcast on the map in new york, ohio, and texas. the deal is about internet service. comcast has more internet subscribers. this puts them in charge of one third of the american broadband market. >> comcast and time warner defended their proposed merger on capitol hill this week. they had a hearing with the house judiciary committee. antitrust experts gave their take on how this will help or hurt american consumers. congress holds no power to approve or deny the merger, their input can sway the agencies making the decision. cory and i spoke with michael copps. he is at an advocacy organization. i asked him how he would vote on this proposed merger. >> i would vote without hesitation a l

we are looking at comcast with time warner and then a big sale of assets to charter.the same time, we have reported masassan wants to connect with key mobile and we have this situation. out toergun had reached directv and they had a conversation. this shows that one deal can deal or get a company thinking perhaps we should be thinking differently. the previous thought that was going on is the focus should be on vodafone. you can see at&t try to do something with that. they wanted to declare their intentions and they have taken themselves out of the vodafone race for a few months. the thought now is that maybe we should look at dish or direct tv. >> so what happened with vodafone? why did they take themselves out of the running? >> you either put up or shut up. one story start to come up about at&t needed to, either enter into negotiations right away with vodafone or say we are not doing anything. not doingignal your anything, you have six months until you can reengage with the company. >> those are u.k. takeover laws. >> exactly, it manages the process differently tha

now we move from time warner to time warner cable in washington today. a comcast deal once again coming under congressional scrutiny. the providers made the case for their merger fighting antitrust claims and defending the benefit to consumers. yang yang joins us with some of the highlights. what happened? >> well, clocking in at four hours, we heard plenty of good arguments from both sides for and against the merger. it was david cohen who had the most face time, the most time at the microphone defending the merger. he is a pro at these hearings. this was his second defending this deal. he made the point it is good for competition and public interest in good for the consumer. >> the beneficiary of this enhanced competition and greater invest and is the american consumer. comcast will bring residential customers faster internet speed, more programming choices, more robust wi-fi and are best in class x1 operating system. this is customers will benefit as well. >> another argument was the fact time warner cable and comcast to not actually compete in any of

grew up, 23 years at time warner cable.ve enormous respect for the people that work there and the quality of the people there. of the people in time warner will be ending up in great company. i think the people moving from charger and comcast -- charter end up int will all a better, more efficient industry committed to being successful. al franken has been pretty outspoken in the senate about how he feels about this. why thes out reasons impact on consumers. most people on an individual level know their experience calling up the cable company trying to get something. what can comcast do to win the customer better? you see the numbers. they have a billion 200 million people around the world using facebook. netflix just hit 35 million. we are getting 7 million more customers. a little bit i agree totally with trying to give the industry a better opportunity to have a footprint regionally that can't compete better. to your question, if you go out to the show, you will see our platform which is a game changer. being able to tak

the time warner comcast merger has been under a lot of scrutiny.e been at the nbc family not just with the olympics but as executive producer of the today show. what do you say -- how do you see today's meeting and what do you say about this merger changing the industry as a whole? >> i am pleased to report that i have nothing to add there because i have not been following it. i have been doing my olympic stuff. i have been trying to come up with fun facts. you have to consider that in 2032, the last olympics of the current deal, there are athletes competing there that have not been born yet. >> pretty amazing. well jim, thank you for joining me today. executive producer for the nbc olympics, congratulations on the deal and good luck on your trip and a couple of weeks. >> thank you. >> coming up, my guest is biggestone of the makers of construction materials and warren buffett is the company's biggest shareholder. ♪ -- janet yellen offered a mostly up up outlook for the u.s. economy in her testimony. but there was one statement causing concern. >>

. >> ifill: and margaret warner sits down with glenn greenwald. the journalist at the center of the national security leaks that revealed the scope of u.s. spying. >> the collection of 125 billion emails and 95 billion phone calls every month-- it's one thing to say this is an out-of- control agency, it's another thing to see the quantity of what they're collecting. >> ifill: those are just some of the stories we're covering on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> charles schwab, proud supporter of the pbs "newshour." >> and the william and flora hewlett foundation, helping people build immeasurably better lives. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: gusty winds in southern california died down today, and that gave firefight

a lot depends on what happens with comcast and time warner. if that clears the hurdles, it's like leg at&t and direct tv will get the ability to merge, creating a rival for comcast and time warner. others dish network could be anadversary. wall street things that would be a bumpy road ahead. shares in at&t and direct tv dipped on monday. in direct tv's case below the $95 per share that at&t is willing to pay to get its hand on the programs. >> wall street up but down for the two companies. it's in the hands of the regulators, and most people i speak to don't think the regulators know what is going on. this is a fast changing industry. the future is multiplatform services but are minded to allow comcast and time warner to go ahead. if they do that. they need to let this go ahead. >> let's bring in jeff roberts. a media giant for a media company. jeff, no one knows what the future will look like five, 10 years from now. is it about at&t having a better customer base, subscribers when the changes come. >> i think that's a good way to put it. ever

what would it mean for the comcast/time warner cable proposed merger?t does it say about the future of the entire television business? joining us now, two of the smartest minds in media, jameses dicks, and brad adgate, he's verizon senior media vice president of research. when this news broke yesterday, my first thought was why aren't the stocks moving? because in a way, at&t, you would think, might have some movement, and certainly directv, they've barely moved an inch. does the market believe this is going to happen? >> i think there's a lot of pushback from the comcast/time warner deal and perhaps they're taking a step back and seeing whether this is going to happen. there's going to be a lot of scrutiny. you know, these are two very big deals. you take those two companies together, those two deals, you're going to wind up with 55 million, you know, cable subscribers, telephone, you know, people who can get cable television. that's half the country. over half the country. liz: james, if you approve time warner/comcast, don't you have to approve at&t

already, comcast has proposed a merger with time-warner cable.iving a supersized comcast a 30% share of the pay tv market. and 32% of the broadband market. unlike that tie up, an at&t directv merger would cut the number of video providers from four down to three for about a quarter of all households in the united states. regulators will be looking at that before giving final approval. to either deal. but at&t is america's number two mobile carrier. remember it wasn't and then it got that deal to sell iphones way before verizon did. at&t got 110 million customers nationwide. it has at&t uverse that beams tv content through lines in to 5.7 million homes in 22 states. district tv has more than triple the number of tv customers nationwide, but it beams content over satellite and can't bundle high speed internet into its package offerings. this deal is set to help at&t get ahead in a growing segment video. >> reporter: the era of monster media mergers rages on. just months after comcast announced a $45 billion acquisition of time-warner cable, at&t un

margaret warner reports from kiev. in our signature segment, how mexico is battling obesity by raising taxes on certain foods. >> we're doing a lot of education problems to change the habits of people, but we are also using taxes can be powerful incentives. >> and on memorial day weekend, a u.s. veteran with a different way of seeing the people around him. next on pbs newshour weekend. >>> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by -- additional support is provided by -- and by the corporation for public broadcasting and contributions from viewers like you. thank you. >>> from the studios in lincoln center, new york, hari sreenivasan. >> good evening. thanks for joining us. president obama is spending part of midmidweekend in afghanistan. he was greeted at the bagram air base. the trip was not announced ahead of time. during the brief surprise visit he met with u.s. troops and conferred with military commanders. the white house sought to quell speculation that the visit in in response to the v.a. scandal. new details eme