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February 14, 2014

Comcast Prepares Lobbying Frenzy over Time Warner Merger 
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Consumer advocates and media reform groups are speaking out against a
planned merger between the cable giants Comcast and Time Warner. Comcast
has announced plans to buy Time Warner Cable for more than $45 billion
in stock, giving it a virtual monopoly in 19 of the nation's 20 largest
media markets. The media reform group Free Press says the deal is
"unthinkable," while former FCC Commissioner Michael Copps said it's "so
over the top that it ought to be dead on arrival at the FCC." It could
take the FCC more than a year to review the deal. Comcast is expected to
stage a lobbying blitz similar to when it won approval for an
NBCUniversal takeover in 2011. According to the news website Republic
Report, at least two officials who oversee antitrust enforcement have
close Comcast ties.

 

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