Bloomberg

21st Century Fox determined that a deal with Comcast has more antitrust risk than its pact with Disney, even after a judge chose not to block AT&T’s takeover of Time Warner. Fox’s management and lawyers — while reviewing Disney’s revised offer in June — concluded that antitrust concerns could scuttle a transaction with Comcast.

Apparently, Walt Disney Co. is close to winning US antitrust approval for its $71 billion deal for 21st Century Fox Inc.’s entertainment assets, creating a potentially insurmountable hurdle for a rival bid from Comcast. The Justice Department is set to approve the deal in as soon as two weeks, according to an unnamed source. Disney has agreed to sell some assets to address competition problems stemming from the tie-up. 

The US Supreme Court agreed to hear Apple's bid to kill an antitrust lawsuit over the market for iPhone apps in a case that could shield e-commerce companies from consumer claims over high commissions. The lawsuit accuses Apple of monopolizing the app market so it can charge excessive commissions of 30 percent. Apple, backed by the Trump administration, says it can’t be sued because the commission is levied on the app developers, not the purchasers who are suing.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai is said to be planning a vote in July on limits to how many TV stations a company can own, rules he has said are too restrictive and that could factor into Sinclair Broadcast Group’s planned purchase of Tribune Media Co. Apparently, Chairman Pai is poised to schedule a July 12 vote on altering rules that cap broadcasters’ reach at 39 percent of the national audience. A vote in July could head off a decision by the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit in Washington that is considering a challenge to part of the existing rules.