Senator Sanders Challenges Comcast-NBCU Merger

Weighing in on the Comcast-NBCU merger, Senator Bernie Sanders joined the growing opposition to the "potentially disastrous" deal with a stern rebuke.

In a letter to the FCC, the Vermont Senator pointed out what he thought were deep problems with the nature of the merger and the negative impact it would have on the American media landscape:

Far from serving the public interest, the sale of NBCU to Comcast would create an enormously powerful, vertically integrated media conglomerate, causing irreparable damage to the American media landscape and ultimately to society as a whole.

At a time when a small number of giant media corporations already control what the American people, see, hear, and read, we do not need another conglomerate with control over the production and distribution of sports, news, and entertainments. To fulfill its congressional mandate to promote localism and diversity, the Commission should find new ways to promote more diversity ownership, more local control, and more points of view — not more media concentration.

Sanders' letter also sharply condemned the current restructuring of Comcast and NBCU senior executive ranks in anticipation of the merger, which he viewed as a blatant disregard for the ongoing review process.

The regulatory review of the merger is expected to conclude early in the new year, though the conditions of the merger are still being weighed by the FCC and the Justice Department.

The Communications Workers of America has previously spoken out against the merger, which could hurt competition among cable-carriers and cost consumers in the long run.

Letter from the Office of Bernard Sanders

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