News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch told a Senate committee last week that his proposed takeover of DirecTV would not harm competition or limit consumer viewing choices. The merger, the media mogul claimed, would provide subscriber consumers with more local TV stations and improved Internet access.
Critics, however, such as the the Consumers Union, disagreed that the $6.6 billion deal, which is still pending before federal regulators, will benefit viewers. The DirecTV sale combined with eased media ownership rules "threaten to seriously harm meaningful competition between media companies" the Consumers Union said.
For more information visit www.fcc.gov and www.consumer.org.
