When candidate Donald Trump was campaigning, he said ”as an example of the power structure I’m fighting, AT&T is buying Time Warner and thus CNN, a deal we will not approve in my administration because it’s too much concentration of power in the hands of too few.”

Flash forward to President Donald Trump and that $85.4 billion mega-merger is expected to be approved, albeit potentially with the requirement that the new company spin-off CNN.

Last week, media outlets reported rumors that Verizon Communications is looking into buying Charter Communications, although no official talks have yet taken place. Verizon already bought AOL and is in the process of buying beleaguered internet search giant Yahoo for $4.8 billion.

And industry observers expect more such mergers under Trump’s pro-business administration, which just nominated as FCC chairman Ajit Pai, who is considered to be much more business-friendly than his predecessor, Democrat Tom Wheeler. Under Pai, regulations such as the broadcast ownership cap, which requires TV station companies to own no more stations than cover 39% of the total U.S., are expected to go away.

Should that change happen, it’s expected to trigger media mergers among TV station group owners, with companies such as Tribune looking like an acquisition target. With stations in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, Tribune is very attractive to groups looking to grow their national footprint.

Another potential takeover target is Sony Pictures Entertainment, which has been struggling since its email servers were hacked two years ago and just this morning declared a nearly $1 billion write-down on the film side. Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton is leaving the company to go to Snapchat, although he’s remaining as co-CEO with Sony Corp. CEO Kazuo Hirai until sometime in June.

While there already has been quite of bit of consolidation in the media sector, companies feel they need to continue to grow in order to stay competitive with the likes of Comcast NBC Universal and Disney-ABC.

“What is driving this [merger activity] is challenges in these businesses,” Matthew Harrigan, a senior analyst with Wunderlich Securities, told the Los Angeles Times. “There are not a lot of elephants on the savanna, and when one moves, you have to move too.”

READ MORE: Los Angeles Times

[Image of nominated FCC Chairman Ajit Pai courtesy of the LA TImes]

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