The Federal Communications Commission has called a timeout on the Comcast-Time Warner Cable and AT&T-DirecTV mega-mergers.
The reason: A pending court decision concerning the disclosure of video-programming contracts, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The case concerns an FCC decision to "to give third parties commenting on the mergers limited access to video-programming contracts between the merging companies and TV-channel owners like CBS, Walt Disney, and Viacom," the paper reported.
Those three companies and others have argued against the disclosure of material information like pricing and strategy insights. The FCC, meanwhile, believes the data would allow for input into deal reviews and has promised protections to prevent details being leaked to unauthorized parties.
While a final judgement has yet to be issued, the FCC stopped the clock on its 180-day review.
"We believe it is prudent … because the Commission would be advantaged by knowing the resolution" of the pending review, a public notice filed last week by the FCC said.
AT&T, for one, wasn't letting the setback break its spirit.
"We anticipate the issues surrounding the litigation between the FCC and the programmers to be resolved quickly so the FCC can complete its review of our transaction," a spokesman told PCMag. "We continue to look forward to closing our deal in the first half of the year."
The move will likely delay both deals, though the clock on the FCC review process can be restarted at any time.
"We understand the FCC's decision to pause the informal review clock while the court continues to review a procedural matter related to the transaction," a Comcast spokeswoman said in a statement to PCMag.
Despite the delay, Comcast appeared optimistic, citing the commission's "significant progress" in its review.
"The comment cycle is complete, the economists have all weighed in, and the parties have responded to all of the FCC's Requests for Information," the spokeswoman said. "We look forward to working with the government to complete the regulatory review process.
TWC and DirecTV did not immediately respond to PCMag's request for comment.