Comcast-Time Warner merger challenged

The buzz is that Comcast is looking to buy Time Warner. Such a move would merge the country’s first and second largest cable companies to create a national cable behemoth. According to CNN/Money, this “combination of the No.1 and No.2 cable providers would give one company control of three-fourths of the U.S. cable market.”

And that’s precisely what several consumer groups – and many business analysts – don’t like.

Mark Cooper, research director for the Consumer Federation of America, told entertainment website TheWrap that the proposed colossal company would raise “... fundamental Communications Act and Sherman Act issues. There is no avoiding it.” The Sherman Act is the nation’s basic antitrust law, dating back to 1890.

The problem wouldn’t be theoretical. A Comcast/Time Warner company would have “de facto control over what content would be available on television," said Craig Moffett of MoffettNathanson Research. “If a TV programmer couldn't cut a deal with Comcast, they wouldn't exist.”

Speed Matters believe antitrust law, and the Communications Act exist to serve both consumers and workers. Comcast is big enough as it is, don’t let it dominate TV and broadband.

Comcast eyes Time Warner Cable and unprecedented market power (CNN/Money, Nov. 25, 2013)

Washington Consumer Groups Question Comcast’s Reported Bid for Time Warner Cable (The Wrap, Nov. 22, 2013)