Comcast-NBCU Merger Draws More than 150 Seeking Access to Confidential Data
More than 150 attorneys, economists, professors, assistants and analysts have sought access to confidential or highly confidential data provided to the FCC in its review of the Comcast-NBC Universal merger, FCC documents show. That’s more than double the number of people who sought access to such data during the FCC’s review of the News Corp.-DirecTV transaction that concluded in 2003, FCC filings show. Comcast alone had more than 50 people sign the acknowledgements of confidentiality to gain access to confidential data submitted by critics of the deal. They range from partners, associates and legal assistants at a handful of law firms to economic consultants and law professors who are reviewing the information. NBCU has 23 attorneys, assistants and analysts authorized to review the data, and GE has four partners, an associate and two assistants at Lawler Metzger working on the documents.
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More than 70 others have signed acknowledgments of confidentiality in the 10-56 docket on behalf of a variety of clients, beyond the parties directly involved in the deal. The law firm Patton Boggs, representing Bloomberg, The Communications Workers of America and the National Coalition of African American Owned Media, has 15 lawyers and assistants who signed the acknowledgments. Beyond its Patton Boggs counsel, Bloomberg has had four economics and law professors look at the data, as well as antitrust lawyers from Axinn, Veltrop. On behalf of AOL, two people have signed for access to the data and three have on behalf of EarthLink. Among public interest groups, Media Access Project, Free Press and the Consumers Federation of America each had a person seek access to the confidential data. Among broadcasters, only lawyers representing the NBC TV Affiliates signed the acknowledgments.
Among pay-TV distributors, DirecTV, Dish, Time Warner Cable and the American Cable Association all have outside attorneys who signed the protective orders, FCC filings show. On behalf of DirecTV, 20 attorneys, assistants and consultants have signed the acknowledgments. No phone carriers or consumer electronics makers have sought access to the documents, according to our review of the filings.
It’s not surprising to see a long list of people seeking access to review the confidential material, said BIA Financial Vice President Mark Fratrik, a consultant who has not signed an acknowledgment of confidentiality in the Comcast-NBCU merger. Because the issues raised in the merger mainly involve programming, it follows that consumer electronics makers wouldn’t be much engaged in the review, he said. “Comcast was already a very significant player as it affects CE in cable boxes,” he said. “I'm not sure its market power in the CE arena really changes very much with buying NBCU, which is more of a content provider."
Some companies may be steering clear of the confidential data because they don’t want to alert others of their interest in the docket. “The phone companies are indeed tracking this proceeding very closely,” said Andy Schwartzman, Media Access Project senior vice president and policy director. “But because people pay attention to who signs up to view confidential documents, they may have not been willing to reveal that level of interest."
The costs of reviewing the confidential data can add up, people who have seen the data said. Beyond fees associated with copying and delivering the information, which are limited, companies incorporating them into comments typically pay top lawyers and economists to review them and crunch the numbers, they said. “For a lot of this work, it was hard to say, ‘Let me give it to an intern or associate,'” because it takes expertise to find needed information in the volumes of data, said a lawyer who has reviewed the data.
Particularly for smaller entities, the costs of accessing and analyzing the data can be off-putting. “San Bruno has limited resources to devote to this proceeding,” said Joseph Van Eaton, of Miller Van Eaton, who represents the Californian municipal cable operator. “We're counting on the FCC staff to investigate the issues.”