Comcast/NBC Media Giants Marry

Posted by on April 20, 2011

On Tuesday, January 18, 2011 the FCC and Justice Department approved the Comcast/ NBC Universal merger. A vote of 4-1 deemed the deal was in the nation's public interest. Comcast is the nations largest cable company and NBC Universal is an entertainment giant. The newly merged companies now own a lot of stuff. Major things they own are:

The largest cable/broadband ISP in the USA.
10 TV & movie production studios.
20 cable channels.
11 regional broadcast TV stations.
15 Telemundo stations.
9 regional sports cable networks.
A regional news cable station.
A large quantity of websites.
2 pro sports teams in Philadelphia and 2 arenas.
A food service vendor.
A ticket agency.
4 theme parks.

Overall, the merged company will have a financial stake in 125 media companies,including Hulu. While Comcast will be allowed to keep stakes in Hulu, they will be required to give up NBCs management stake, which includes a board seat on Hulu. For the next seven years,these companies will have to abide by "special" rules. Key points in these rules are:

Ensuring reasonable access to Comcast/NBC programming for multichannel distribution.
Protect the development of online competition.
Allow access to Comcast's distribution systems.
Protect diversity,localism,broadcast and other public interest concerns.
Offer broadband services to low income Americans at a reduced monthly price ($49.95/month).
Expand children's programming, increase local news coverage to viewers and enhance diversity of programming to Spanish speaking viewers.
Required to take affirmative action steps to foster competition in the video marketplace.

After seven years- what will happen? Who knows. My belief is that the open internet will die.

The Comcast-NBCU joint venture opens the door to the cable-ization of the open Internet. The potential for walled gardens, tollbooths, content prioritization, access fees to reach end-users and a stake in the heart of independent content production is now very real," says Democrat Michael Copps, the lone FCC commissioner who opposed the merger. "It reaches into virtually every corner of our media and digital landscapes and will affect every citizen in the land. It is new media as well as old; it is news and information as well as sports and entertainment; it is distribution as well as content. And it confers too much power in one company's hands.

Sen. Al Franken believes that it will lead to higher bills and worse programming.

With approval of this merger, the FCC has given a single media conglomerate unprecedented control over the flow of information in America. This will ultimately mean higher cable and Internet bills, fewer independent voices in the media and less freedom of choice for all American consumers.

If this seems like a raw deal for consumers, you're right. Comcast spent $12.6 million on 100 lobbyists in 2009, and another $3.1 million in the first quarter of 2010. Most of that went toward hiring Beltway insiders, including 78 former government officials, to join its lobbying arm. That may sound pricey, but Comcast can afford it. In 2009, Comcast's operating income was $7.2 billion, up 7 percent from the year before. Plus, spending $15 million on 100 lobbyists is chump change when you consider what Comcast pays its top brass. In 2009, CNN Money ranked Comcast as one of the five "Highest Paid Worst Performers" in America. Roberts' 2008 compensation: $40.8 million. If you're a Comcast customer, you probably think that money would have been better spent improving service & lowering bills rather than helping Comcast get even bigger. Comcast consistently ranks among the worst companies in customer service, and the Consumerist named it the "Worst Company in America." in April 2010. Comcast's customers have already endured price hikes of nearly 50 percent in some areas. Clearly, the company isn't above padding its bottom line by raising your cable rates. Now- they are pretty much unstoppable. I'd like to thank FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, Commissioners Mignon Clyburn, Meredith Attwell Baker, Robert McDowell along with the Justice Department for approving this terrible merger. Corporations obviously rule our politicians. We should go ahead and take the blindfold off of Lady Justice and let her openly accept bribes, and clutter the Statue of Liberty with corporate logos.