Critics Warn as DoJ, FCC Clear Comcast-NBC Merger

[ Thanks to James
Maguire for this link. ]

“After more than a year spent selling a blockbuster
media merger to financial analysts, a skeptical public interest
sector and government regulators, Comcast has won approval from the
federal government to complete its $30 billion takeover of NBC
Universal.

“On Tuesday, the Department of Justice and Federal
Communications Commission, which had been working closely together
on their separate reviews of the transaction, each announced
approval of the deal, accompanied by several conditions intended to
preserve fair access to NBC’s content, both online and off.

“The conditions include voluntary commitments the companies had
made to secure approval of the merger, such as a pledge to preserve
local and public-interest programming on the NBC affiliates that
Comcast will acquire.

“Additionally, Comcast, both the nation’s largest residential
Internet service provider and cable distributor, has agreed to
provide discounted broadband service to low-income residents, and
the FCC and DoJ both included a condition barring discrimination of
rivals’ online video content on Comcast’s broadband network, in
keeping with the FCC’s recently adopted net neutrality rules.”

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