The Comcast/NBC merger should not be approved without at least 11 conditions. That’s the recommendation of Sen. Herb Kohl, chairman of the Senate Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights Subcomittee. He outlined the conditions in a 6-page letter handed yesterday to the Dept. of Justice. In it he writes:
“Our examination of this transaction has led us to conclude that Comcast’s acquisition of NBC Universal has the potential for serious anticompetitive and anticonsumer effects in at least three respects.”
According to MediaWeek, he refers to the ability of other pay TV services to compete with the new merged entity, whether other programmers will be able to gain access to the new entity’s distribution platform and on the deal’s impact on new methods of delivering video over internet.
Among the 11 conditions: Comcast will have to divest NBC’s interest in Hulu within a year of the acquisition; Comcast cannot move NBC network programming to any cable network in which it has a financial interest for 10 years.
It’s expected the FCC and the Dept. of Justice will take about a year to review and make a decision on the merger.