Groups opposing part or all of the Comcast/NBCU merger will
outline their beefs in a conference call Wednesday (Feb. 3), the day before
back-to-back hearings on the $30 billion deal in the House and Senate.
Representatives of Media Access Project, Wealth TV (whose
program carriage complaint is still pending before the FCC), the Communications
Workers of America, Free Press and the American Cable Association all argued
the FCC and the Justice Department need to look closely at a number of issues,
including pricing, program diversity and access to programming on-air as well
as online.
Comcast does not disagree that the government needs to look
at those issues, but says its conclusion should be that the deal is pro-competitive
and consumer-friendly. Comcast argues
that they will enact voluntary conditions and existing FCC rules that protect
access to, and carriage of, programming.
