It's official: Confirming the leaks from last night, Comcast has
announced it plans to acquire Time Warner Cable. This
combination of the country's #1 and #2 cable companies will
stretch from coast to coast, as TWC controls markets like New
York City, LA and Texas, while Comcast strongholds include
Philadelphia and Washington DC. TV isn't the only medium in play
either, since as Gigaom points out, the two companies together
cover not only 30 million+ cable TV subscribers, but also around
the same number of internet connections and about 15 million
phone lines. So, what's the likely impact for customers as a
result of the deal? For several reasons the answer right away is
"not much."  It will take time for the combo to gain regulatory
approval from the FCC and Justice Department -- check after the
break for Comcast's reasons (Apple, Google, Netflix and Hulu)
why the FCC should approve it -- like like the lengthy
acquisition process we saw when Comcast snatched up NBCUniversal
a few years ago. Despite that, bot