No Antitrust Issues With Comcast/FreeWheel

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The government has given its blessing to Comcast's $360 million purchase of online ad company FreeWheel. Comcast and FreeWheel agreed to the deal last month, but all deals over a threshold price must be submitted to the FTC/Justice Department for that antitrust checkup—they divvy up the reviews. If there are no issues or reason to sue for conditions or spinoffs, the deals are granted early termination of that vetting, which was the case with Comcast/FreeWheel.

The Federal Trade Commission April 7 announced that neither it nor the Justice Department have any antitrust issues with the deal, granting early termination of Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust review.

John Eggerton
John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.