NBC On Record Opposing Consolidation
NBC Universal, which claims its pending merger with Comcast would be a boon for consumers, warned of dire consequences nine years ago when Time Warner and AOL wanted to combine. In a July 24, 2000 letter to the FCC, there was this: "Given the size and scope of the proposed merged company, AOL/Time Warner will have both the ability and the incentive to discriminate against unaffiliated content providers such as NBC." The Peacock network also urged the agency "to establish firm principles of non-discrimination in the treatment of unaffiliated content providers in the broadband services marketplace" -- a step that Comcast is now trying to prevent the FCC from taking.
The document, obtained by Tech Daily Dose, is certain to provide ammunition to critics of the proposed Comcast-NBC deal, who will argue that the broadcast network had it right in 2000. The marriage of Time Warner and AOL sputtered, of course, resulting in the spin-off of AOL from its parent, a process set to culminate this week. The letter was signed by NBC Executive Vice President and General Counsel Rick Cotton, who observed during a Friday press briefing that predictions about the dominance of a merged Time Warner-AOL never materialized. Of course, if he and others at NBC had gotten their way, the deal might never have been approved. While his missive back in 2000 didn't explicitly demand the merger be blocked, it implied it. NBC stated at the time that if the transaction was approved, substantial conditions would be required to protect the public interest -- an argument critics of the Comcast-NBC alliance will likely make.
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