US media company Comcast has agreed a deal to acquire US pay-television operator Time Warner Cable for $45.2bn (€33.2bn).
The acquisition is subject to regulatory approval, but the companies expect the transaction to be given the go-ahead by the end of this year.
The merger, which was confirmed this (Thursday) lunchtime, will create about $750m of cost savings in the first year and total operating cost savings of about $1.5bn.
Time Warner Cable, which completed a buy-out of the NBCUniversal media company, including the NBC Sports Group, last year, operates numerous sports channels in the US.
Pay-television operator Charter Communications had a takeover bid for Time Warner Cable turned down last month.