AT&T; (T) is said to be in "advanced talks" to acquire cable company Time Warner (TWX) and a deal could be announced as early as this weekend, sources told the Wall Street Journal.

A previous Time Warner blockbuster deal, its 2000 merger with AOL, is now considered one of the most ill-advised corporate marriages on record. NPR's Jim Zarroli is also working to confirm the merger plan. Last month, CNBC said AT&T; is gearing up to make a media buy sooner rather than later, and in January the New York Post reported AT&T; was eyeing a purchase of Time Warner to counter Verizon's acquisition of AOL. The company rejected an $80bn offer from Twenty-First Century Fox Inc in 2014. In 2011, Comcast purchased NBC Universal.

Back in 2014, the Fox bid would have priced Time Warner shares at $85; when the markets closed Friday, Time Warner stock was at almost $90 - on the strength of a almost $6.50 one-day surge that was fueled by rumors of the pending merger. AT&T; is buying all of Time Warner, which includes HBO, CNN, Warner Bros.

For AT&T;, the merger would continue a push into content as it adjusts to a mature wireless sector. AT&T; spent $48bn buying the satellite TV provider DirecTV past year, making it the country's largest pay-TV provider, with 25 million customers. For AT&T;, a deal with Time Warner would give it a leading US provider of pay-TV and internet service as well as popular content from the likes of HBO and access to sports including NBA basketball.

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Neither AT&T; nor Time Warner have released a statement on the deal as yet. Comcast's attempts to buy Times Cable Inc for example, was blocked all thanks to regulators.

That puts the deal's value at more than $80 billion. The deal will be the biggest acquisition in the world this year and give the company access to TV channels HBO and CNN as well as film studio Warner Bros and other significant assets. The company has also spent hundreds of millions improving its infrastructure to give consumers a better experience watching video content on their mobile phones. AT&T; is building out its own gigabit internet infrastructure at the same time another big change is coming for the wireless provider, 5G.

The companies didn't immediately comment on Friday.

Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, laid out his opposition to the merger in a speech at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on Saturday, and said that a Trump administration would not approve the deal.