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/ 01.28.2010 5:00PM
Groups Blast Comcast-NBCU Public Interest Commitments
WASHINGTON: We’ll be watching closely. That’s the message from small cable
operators and a public interest group regarding today’s news that Comcast and General Electric filed
paperwork to transfer a majority stake of NBC Universal to the cable company.
The American Cable Association and Public Knowledge were reacting to what
Comcast pledged to do in the event of regulator approval. Among its list of
public-interest commitments, Comcast said it would add more local news and
children’s programming on the NBC owned-and-operated stations--at least
temporarily--and adhere to current program-access rules. The FCC just last week
ruled that cable companies could no longer withhold terrestrially transmitted
programming from competing carriers, closing a loophole that allowed Comcast
exclusive carriage of its own regional sports networks. (See “FCC
Closes Programming Exclusivity Loophole”)
“A month ago, Comcast-NBCU pledged to operate in a manner consistent with certain
‘public interest commitments,’” said ACA president and CEO, Matt Polka. “Because
Comcast and NBCU drafted these public interest commitments on their own, it
shouldn’t shock anyone that they are totally porous and inadequate. One of the
commitments calls for Comcast-NBCU to self-apply the FCC’s program-access rules
to its TV stations. This ‘commitment’ isn’t without irony, given that Comcast
is asking a federal appeals court to tear up those rules and toss them in the
wastebasket.
“The American Cable Association intends to scrutinize fully the proposed
transaction between Comcast Corp. and NBC Universal and will ask both the
Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission to protect
consumers by ensuring that Comcast-NBCU does not have the incentive and ability
to engage in anticompetitive conduct that results in higher rates and less
choice for consumers.”
Public Knowledge took a similar line regarding online content. PK fought
Comcast in regulatory venues over throttling high-traffic sites. The FCC last
year codified the previously voluntary principles of Network Neutrality,
effectively prohibiting throttling. The NBCU deal would give Comcast direct
control over a large volume of content, and ostensibly, how it’s distributed
online. NBCU’s properties include NBC, full ownership of eight national cable
networks, a minority stake in five more and 10 regional sports cable networks.
“We are incredulous that Comcast and NBCU would downplay Internet distribution
of video at a time when the FCC has repeatedly identified online video as one
of the primary drivers to broadband adoption,” PK said in a statement. “When
the commission considers any conditions to this transaction, it must take into
account both existing online competitors and those the commission hopes will
emerge. The commission must make certain
competitors will have access to Comcast and NBC programming as the online
market evolves.”
Comcast executive vice president, David Cohen enumerated the list on the merger
Web site:
-- For three years, the NBC O&Os will provide at least the same amount of
local news and information programming as today--and will not cut the amount of
news programming.
-- A commitment to provide an additional 1,000 hours of local news and
information programming by the NBC O&Os.
-- An additional 1,500 programming choices for children and families within
three years on VOD.
-- An additional hour of children’s programming each week (above the current
three-hour requirement) using multicast channels of NBC O&Os.
-- Tripling the amount of time that program ratings information appears on the
screen, from five to 15 seconds at each commercial break, and enlarging the
information box.
-- Launching a new over-the-air multicast channel using Telemundo’s programming
library.
-- Increasing Telemundo and Mun2 VOD programming by up to 300 additional
choices within three years.
-- Ensuring that the two new independently owned and operated cable networks we
have committed to add to our digital line-up each year for the next three years
are truly independent--i.e., networks that are not currently carried by Comcast
Cable, and are not affiliated with Comcast, NBCU, or any of the top 15 owners
of cable networks as measured by revenues.
-- A continued reaffirmation of our commitment to keep NBC as a free-over-the
air broadcaster with a workable business model in the evolving economic and
technological environment.
Cohen argued that the Comcast-NBCU combo would operate in an “intensely
competitive environment” where the two would have a 12 percent share of cable
network revenues. It would rank third, however, behind Disney, with nearly 21
percent and Time Warner with nearly 19 percent. With regard to the channel
line-up, Cohen said six of every seven channels on Comcast Cable would be
unaffiliated with the carrier or with NBCU. He noted that nothing in the merger
violates federal communications or anti-trust rules.
“With this filing, we initiate what we hope will be a constructive dialogue
with the FCC and interested stakeholders, including the general public,” Cohen
wrote. “As the commission has said in the past, a transaction review process is
not the appropriate forum to air general industry issues or to ventilate imagined
or contrived grievances. We are looking forward to a thorough--and
expeditious--regulatory review of this transaction, and to working with the commission,
the DOJ, Congress, and other interested parties for a successful completion of
this important venture.”-- Deborah D. McAdams
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