AT&T may bypass the powerful US telecommunications regulator by offloading a Time Warner broadcast station, analysts say.
This comes as the telcommunications giant braces for what is expected to be a lengthy and tough competition review of its proposed $85.4 billion deal to buy Time Warner.
AT&T said over the weekend that the deal would need approval of the US Justice Department.
The companies were determining which Time Warner US Federal Communications Commission licenses, if any, would transfer to AT&T as part of the deal. Any such transfers would require FCC approval.
AT&T has clashed with the FCC in recent years on a number of fronts. An AT&T spokesman declined to elaborate on whether the FCC would need to formally approve the transaction.
Comcast's 2011 takeover of NBCUniversal - the last marriage of a distribution powerhouse with a major media and content provider, such as AT&T and Time Warner - was reviewed by both the Justice Department and the FCC.
The FCC played a key role in that review and, by a 4-1 vote, approved the deal with significant conditions, some of which last until 2018.
The US Justice Department has to prove a proposed deal harms competition in order to block it. But the FCC has broad leeway to block a merger it deems not to be the "public interest" and can impose additional conditions.
Despite its big media footprint, Time Warner has only one FCC-regulated broadcast station, WPCH-TV in Atlanta. Time Warner could sell the license to try to avoid a formal FCC review, several analysts said.
David McAtee, AT&T senior executive vice president and general counsel, said in a statement that history is on the company's side in winning approval.
"In the modern history of the media and the internet, the US government has always approved vertical mergers like ours, because they benefit consumers, strengthen competition, and, in our case, encourage innovation and investment," he said.
AT&T, which has repeatedly clashed with the FCC over the past several years over major industry regulations, said one benefit to its buying Time Warner is that the programming company is "lightly regulated compared to much of AT&T's existing operations."
AT&T has criticised much of FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler's ambitious proposed agenda, including new broadband privacy regulations, reforms to the $45-billion-a-year business data services market and a plan to allow consumers to ditch pay-TV set top boxes.
AT&T was among those who sued the FCC in 2015 to block the Obama administration's landmark rules barring internet service providers from obstructing or slowing down consumer access to web content.
The FCC proposed fining AT&T's Mobility unit $100m in June 2015 for misleading customers about unlimited mobile data plans.
The FCC has taken no further action to enforce the proposed fine, and the company has it would "vigorously dispute the FCC's assertions."
AT&T and the FCC are working together on some issues. AT&T chief executive Randall Stephenson is chairing a task force to crack down on robocalls after the FCC's Wheeler in July urged new industry action.
Experts expect tougher regulatory, political and consumer scrutiny of the deal compared to Comcast's purchase of NBCUniversal. A US Senate antitrust committee plans to hold a hearing on the new deal in November.
While the Comcast deal offers a potential roadmap for winning approval by agreeing to conditions, it also could lead to tougher and more enforceable conditions that opponents already are demanding.
In 2011, Comcast agreed to 150 conditions, including sacrificing day-to-day control of popular video website Hulu and making NBCUniversal programs available to competitive streaming services.
Others were aimed at ensuring Comcast, as the owner of major content from NBC and various cable channels, dealt fairly with rival cable and satellite providers.
