今早，康卡斯特正式放棄了與時代華納有線電視公司長達一年的合併計劃。事實證明，美國聯邦貿易委員會（FTC）和美國聯邦通訊委員會（FCC）曾表達過一些擔憂，擔心一個龐然大物的誕生會讓本來就乏力的寬頻競爭相形見絀，並與NBC環球公司（NBC Universal）共同擁有一個主要的媒體強國。康卡斯特執行長布萊恩•羅伯茨（Brian Roberts）在一份公開宣告中對這一失望不屑一顧，稱自己“對下一步的發展感到非常興奮”。Verge獲得的一封發給時代華納有線電視公司員工的電子郵件顯示，TWC執行長羅伯•馬庫斯（Rob Marcus）也在做同樣的事情，其形式幾乎是一場極其激烈的企業激勵談話。

馬庫斯在合併宣佈前六週出任執行長，他比羅伯茨樂觀得多。這可能與如果TWC加入康卡斯特，他被提供的8000萬美元遣散費的損失有關——事實上，他“對我們未能完成交易感到失望。”此外，他還向時代華納有線電視公司的員工表示了一個略帶辛酸的道歉，他們在過去一年中一直處於現在不可能發生的重組陰影之下。但他仍然“對我們的未來無比興奮”，這將包括為各種實體創造大量“價值”。畢竟，歸根結底，一點友善的股東價值創造難道不是我們所有人真正需要的嗎？

I wanted to tell you personally that, moments ago, we formally and mutually agreed with Comcast to terminate our planned merger. I'm disappointed we were unable to c***ummate the deal, which we believed would have created great value for customers, colleagues and shareholders alike.

But I'm also incredibly excited about our future.

When I began my tenure as CEO in January 2014, I committed to three things: making TWC a truly great company, delivering outstanding customer experiences, and maximizing shareholder value. I remain equally committed to those same three goals today. I am proud to say that during the past 16 months, we have greatly improved our Company's operating results and the quality of our customers' experiences. Those, in turn, are the essential underpinnings of long-term shareholder value. Today we are well positioned, thanks in part to the substantial investments we have made in our network and customer service, but most of all due to your hard work.

So now what happens? We continue to do what we do best: working together to serve every one of our 15 million customers better every day. We continue to invest to make our network and our products even more competitive. And we continue our commitment to making Time Warner Cable a great place to work for our 55,000 employees.

I am truly sorry for how the uncertainty of the past 14 months has affected each of you - I know it's been difficult to make decisi*** about your careers and your lives. There will likely be some continued distracti*** in the coming weeks as we adjust to our new normal. However, you've already dem***trated a remarkable ability to serve our customers well and deliver results through it all.

Now is our time. Together, we will continue to prove that Time Warner Cable can and will create value for our customers, shareholders, each other, and the communities we serve. I'm proud to stand alongside you and lead the way forward.