Featured Article:
Media Access Project President Outlines the Dangers of the Proposed Comcast-NBC Universal Merger at Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Hearing
Details Potential Negative Impacts for Independent Programmers, Cable and Internet Video Distributors, and the General Public
Media Access Project (MAP) has released testimony prepared for delivery before the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights Subcommittee this afternoon. In the testimony, Andrew Jay Schwartzman, MAP President and CEO, expresses opposition to Comcast’s proposed acquisition of NBC Universal (NBCU).
His testimony draws attention to the transaction’s potential impact on independent programmers, since Comcast’s increase in market power would further hurt those programmers who already are unable to obtain carriage on Comcast’s cable system. The cable provider’s record of favoring its own system means its acquisition of NBC’s cable networks will greatly magnify this imbalance of power, exacerbated even more by potential practices such as forced bundling of Comcast-owned content.Read More >>
Read Mr. Schwartzman’s testimony.
Recent News:
Opposition to Comcast - NBC deal staking their turf
Joe Flint, LA Times
Comcast Chief Executive Brian Roberts does not have some grand plan to undermine American democracy, says Andrew Schwartzman, president of Media Access Project, a public policy law firm.
But if Roberts’ effort to acquire control of NBC Universal from General Electric Co. succeeds, that could be the end result, warned Schwartzman, who is one of the leading opponents of the Comcast – NBC Universal marriage.
In written testimony submitted to the Senate Antitrust Subcommittee in advance of a hearing on the deal scheduled for Thursday, Schwartzman said a combination of the nation’s biggest cable and broadband provider with the programming powerhouse would hurt competitors and consumers and ultimately must be stopped
4 February 2010 under MAP in the News » Media Concentration | Read more »
Media Access Project President Outlines the Dangers of the Proposed Comcast-NBC Universal Merger at Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Hearing
Details Potential Negative Impacts for Independent Programmers, Cable and Internet Video Distributors, and the General Public
Media Access Project (MAP) has released testimony prepared for delivery before the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights Subcommittee this afternoon. In the testimony, Andrew Jay Schwartzman, MAP President and CEO, expresses opposition to Comcast’s proposed acquisition of NBC Universal (NBCU).
His testimony draws attention to the transaction’s potential impact on independent programmers, since Comcast’s increase in market power would further hurt those programmers who already are unable to obtain carriage on Comcast’s cable system. The cable provider’s record of favoring its own system means its acquisition of NBC’s cable networks will greatly magnify this imbalance of power, exacerbated even more by potential practices such as forced bundling of Comcast-owned content.
Read Mr. Schwartzman’s testimony.
4 February 2010 under Press » Media Concentration | Read more »
Comcast-NBC ‘Negative’ If It Pares Program Access, Boucher Says
By Todd Shields and Lorraine Woellert, Bloomberg
Comcast Corp.’s proposed takeover of NBC Universal would be a “negative thing” if it reduces access to programs for viewers and competitors, said Rick Boucher, head a U.S. House panel on communications.
“It’s very important that there not be any diminution of availability of that content for those who are current users of it,” Representative Boucher, a Virginia Democrat, said in an interview today.
Boucher is chairman of the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet, one of two congressional panels scheduled to hear tomorrow from Comcast Chief Executive Officer Brian Roberts, NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker and critics of the merger. Comcast, the largest U.S. cable company, announced the deal on Dec. 3.
3 February 2010 under MAP in the News » Media Concentration | Read more »
Comcast/NBCU Opposition Groups Raise Issues Before Hill Hearings
Four of the five groups oppose the deal, with the ACA calling for strict conditions and concessions
By John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable
Four out of five merger critics agree, the FCC and Department of Justice should not allow the Comcast/NBCU merger to go through.
The fifth, the American Cable Association (ACA), is pushing for conditions and concessions instead of outright opposition because it concedes the deal will probably go through.
“We are looking at the merger realistically said ACA President Matt Polka. “We believe that it is mostly likely that the merger will be approved. So, we have not opposed the merger per se. We continue to raise serious concerns and objections and will be working very aggressively… to demonstrate the harm and the need for significant conditions to be placed on the merger.”
3 February 2010 under MAP in the News » | Read more »
Comcast-NBC Merger To Face Hill Scrutiny This Week
By Juliana Gruenwald, National Journal
Executives from Comcast and NBC Universal will be on the hot seat on both sides of the Capitol Thursday to address concerns about the potential competitive and consumer implications of their proposed merger. Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts and NBC Universal President and CEO Jeff Zucker will appear first before the House Energy and Commerce Communications, Technology, and the Internet Subcommittee for a morning hearing on the “potential impact on the media marketplace of” the deal.
3 February 2010 under MAP in the News » Media Concentration | Read more »