Coalition Launched To Oppose NBC-Comcast Merger
July 8, 2010
| 10:12 AM
On the same day that lawmakers were set to meet in Chicago for a field hearing on the issue, 20 public interest, industry and consumer groups Thursday announced a coalition to oppose the proposed merger between Comcast and NBC Universal, citing its potential harm on competition and consumer choice.
The coalition includes groups that have raised concerns about the merger since it was announced in December including Free Press and the Media Access Project, while also including financial news provider Bloomberg, the National Coalition of African American Owned Media, the National Organization for Women and the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association.
The groups sent a letter Thursday to House Energy and Commerce Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va., whose panel is holding the field hearing in Chicago Thursday on the potential effects of the merger, as well as Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection Chairman Bobby Rush, D-Ill. Both lawmakers were set to attend the field hearing.
"As the nation's largest cable company, the largest Internet service provider, the NBC broadcast networks, owner of the local NBC and Telemundo stations in some of the nation's largest media markets, owner of dozens of national, regional and local news, entertainment and sports cable networks, and owner or part-owner of some of the most heavily visited Web sites on the Internet, the merged entity will exert a degree of power unknown in our nation's media history," the coalition's letter said.
The coalition added, "That degree of concentrated power is fundamentally threatening to the public interest. Before allowing such a sea-change to take place, these impacts must be fully studied and understood - and the threats must be mitigated through energetic applications of the government's regulatory authority."
In a blog post Wednesday, Comcast Senior Vice President and Public Policy Counsel Joe Waz, who is scheduled to testify at the field hearing, defended the merger by detailing the commitments related to "diversity of programming, ownership, supplier, and workplace opportunities" the company has pledged to make if the merger is approved.
"Through this transaction we have been exploring new opportunities to utilize our resources so that no one is left behind. This transaction is about giving more to our diverse consumers and to the communities we serve - more programming, more career opportunities, more procurement opportunities, and more community outreach," Waz wrote. "Based on our solid record and the voluntary commitments we have offered in connection with the NBCU transaction, we strongly believe the benefits of this transaction are in the public interest."
Join the Discussion
The National Journal Group has the right (but not the obligation) to monitor the comments and to remove any materials it deems inappropriate.
Comments powered by Disqus