Giant cable merger will affect 1 in 6 American households

NEW YORK -- Antitrust regulators on Monday cleared a mega-merger that will create the country's second-largest cable company.

The Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice approved Charter Communications' $78 billion takeover of Time Warner Cable and its $10.4 billion purchase of Bright House Networks.

The new company will be prohibited from charging customers based on usage or put data caps, the two agencies said in a statement on Monday.

Additionally, the company won't be allowed to charge internet content providers fees for connecting them to customers -- what's sometimes called interconnection fees.

The conditions will apply for seven years to "focus on removing unfair barriers to video competition," the statement said.

The deal will affect one in six American households.