FOX Fox Corporation

By Drew FitzGerald 

President Trump suggested customers stop using AT&T Inc.'s services to force its CNN unit to cover him more favorably, renewing his attacks on the cable news network in a pair of tweets.

The president wrote on Twitter that AT&T "would be forced to make big changes" at CNN if people stopped subscribing to the company's services, and that CNN "is dying in the ratings anyway." He added: "When the World watches @CNN, it gets a false picture of USA. Sad."

The president was writing Monday during a state visit to the United Kingdom, where rival Fox News isn't generally carried. Fox Corp. and Wall Street Journal owner News Corp. share common ownership.

The tweets revived a topic that has frustrated AT&T executives since they first announced their plans to acquire CNN along with other cable channels and film-and-TV studio assets in late 2016.

Then-candidate Trump said at the time he wouldn't allow the telecom giant to buy CNN owner Time Warner because it would put too much power in the hands of a single company.

The U.S. Department of Justice later sued to block AT&T's purchase of the media company on antitrust grounds. The companies tried to make allegations of improper political interference a plank of their defense but were blocked by the federal judge overseeing the case.

AT&T won the case anyway last June, allowing the cellphone carrier and pay-TV provider to become a major player in the American media landscape.

An AT&T spokesman declined to comment.

Write to Drew FitzGerald at andrew.fitzgerald@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 03, 2019 09:53 ET (13:53 GMT)

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