Critics of the proposed Comcast-Time Warner Cable deal...
Critics of the proposed Comcast-Time Warner Cable deal will make their case Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Public Knowledge CEO Gene Kimmelman, whose organization has announced and tried to rally others in opposition to the deal, will testify alongside…
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Comcast Executive Vice President David Cohen and Time Warner Cable Chief Financial Officer Arthur Minson. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., chairs the Antitrust Subcommittee and is another vocal opponent of the deal. Kimmelman is a member of the American Antitrust Institute’s advisory board. The American Antitrust Institute warned Senate Judiciary of the deal in a letter sent Friday. It “believes that the proposed merger raises pressing issues related to competition, consumer welfare, and the protection of free speech that a diverse and independent media ensures,” AAI said (http://bit.ly/1gEqk7C). “A merged Comcast-TWC could potentially exercise undue control over: (1) the timing, method, quality, and pricing of content and its distribution; (2) the rivals that produce and distribute content; (3) the scope and nature of content; and (4) the pace of innovation in broadband development.” AAI is planning to release a white paper on the effects of the deal, set to address many questions, in late April, it said: “For example, how might combining the cable television and broadband distribution systems of Comcast and TWC enhance the merged company’s ability to restrict competing content providers’ access to a significant base of consumers through distribution channels controlled by the merged company?” Comcast, meanwhile, has defended the deal as good for consumers and has begun an advertising campaign saying “Together Is Better,” referring to the proposed acquisition of Time Warner Cable. Also testifying at the 10 a.m. hearing, now scheduled to be in 216 Hart rather than in Dirksen as originally planned, are James Bosworth, CEO of Back9Network; Richard Sherwin, CEO of Spot on Networks; and Christopher Yoo, a University of Pennsylvania law professor. Veria Living, an independent TV network whose CEO Eric Sherman met with Judiciary staff of both parties last month, will also provide written testimony, and Sherman will attend the hearing, a Veria Living spokesman told us. The FCC and Justice Department must ultimately rule on the deal.