Comcast/NBC Merger Raises Potentially Troubling Issues, Says Rep. Waters
LOS ANGELES -- Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., said the FCC and Department of Justice should do detailed reviews of the Comcast-NBC merger “considering the impact this merger stands to have on competition and consumers,” as well as the possible negative impact on diversity. Speaking Monday at a House Judiciary Committee field hearing on the merger, Waters stressed the importance of transparency and an open process in the FCC’s review of the merger.
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Waters said the merger review “should not be rushed through an expedited review process.” Factors considered to be in the public interest many include “a deeply rooted preference for preserving and enhancing competition, accelerating private deployment of advanced services, promoting diversity of licensing holdings, and generally managing the spectrum in the public trust."
Due to the deregulation and “federal agencies’ rubber-stamped approval of media mergers,” consolidation in the entertainment industry has adversely impacted diversity and given fewer companies much more control over what programs are produced and broadcast, Waters said. She also called it very troubling that “many independent and minority programmers, producers, writers, and directors have been afraid to voice their concerns for fear of blacklisting, or other forms of retaliation within their industries."
Responding to a Comcast-NBC joint statement outlining their plans for corporate diversity and inclusion, Waters called it a positive first step but said: “I am anxious to learn how it proposes to meaningfully involve and create opportunities for women and minorities in executive leadership, management, advertising and programming. It is my hope that the parties to this merger can find ways to mitigate the potential harm this deal could have on consumers, competition, and minority communities’ access to quality and affordable broadband service."
Comcast has initiated four new diversity advisory councils and has initiated “a new program where two new independently owned networks will be developed each year for the three years starting in 2011 which will have a majority minority ownership,” said Paula Madison, executive vice president of diversity for NBC Universal. Madison said producing quality programming is expensive. “Comcast’s investment in NBC will ensure we keep creating programming consumers want and bring jobs to Southern California.”
By and large mergers are not consumer friendly said Judiciary Committee member Stephen Cohen, D-Tenn. “Most mergers are not in reality in the public interest; they are in the interest of businesses and executives. In mergers of large scale it’s almost inevitable that the consumer loses. I've read a lot about what Comcast has, or has not done, in regards to minorities and the question is, is this an industry-wide problem or a Comcast problem?"
Witnesses told the committee that under the merger, Comcast will gain ownership and control of both NBC and Telemundo. It was noted that the NBC acquisition of Telemundo was informative of how media consolidation has diminished diverse voices -- currently there are no Hispanics on the board of Telemundo, the country’s largest Spanish language network. In addition, NBC dismantled Telemundo’s local news, which is no longer locally generated and produced in five of the top 10 Hispanic TV markets.
Others said Comcast should not be held accountable for previous policies and practices while NBC was owned by General Electric. TV One Chairman Alfred Liggins said big is not necessarily bad. “Some may have concerns about GE’s stewardship of NBCU. That is not something for which Comcast should be held accountable. Rather, this is something for which Comcast can be the solution. Because of my personal experience working with Comcast, I am confident that if allowed to acquire NBCU, Comcast will look for opportunities to create managerial and content diversity."
AT&T consumer advisory panel member Alan Hammond said the merger will almost certainly reduce public affairs programming and suggested the FCC “has not given sustained consideration to the impact of minority owned business.” He equated the current situation to the way that duopoly rules negatively impacted minority ownership of TV stations because independently, locally owned TV stations found it difficult to compete with the scale of economies of broadcast network owned and operated stations.
Alex Nogales, National Hispanic Media Coalition CEO, said his group is not against the merger, “providing that strong, verifiable, and enforceable conditions are imposed and agreed to by Comcast. This is a gigantic deal, one of such enormous proportions that it is sure to bring about more media consolidation by other media competitors -- Time Warner, Disney and Fox included."
Calling Comcast’s diversity record spotty, Nogales says it’s a simple matter of fairness. “An incredible monetary amount of revenue that a combined Comcast NBC-Universal powerhouse will earn if this deal is approved will come from communities of color. It is reasonable to expect that people of color should also share in the prosperity by having their own minority-owned and operated networks carried and distributed by Comcast in all of their cable systems. If this body has a say in approving the joint venture, we hope that it will insist on the diversity initiatives discussed.”