Josh Silver, President, Free Press
Posted: January 18, 2011 12:06 PM
Comcastrophe: Comcast/NBC Merger Approved
The new Comcast will control an obscene number of media outlets, including the NBC broadcast network, numerous cable channels, two dozen local NBC and Telemundo stations, movie studios, online video portals, and the physical network that distributes that media content to millions of Americans through Internet and cable connections.
Comcast CEO Brian Roberts called it "a proud and exciting day for Comcast," and showered Obama's FCC and DoJ with praise.
Culmination of the deal, combined with the FCC's recent, loophole-ridden "Net Neutrality" rules, sets the table for Comcast to turn the Internet into cable television, where it has the ability to speed up its content, slow down or block its competitors such as Netflix, and hike the rates for its programming and services. We'll all end up paying more -- whether you're a Comcast subscriber or not.
More Broken PromisesThe merger further squeezes what's left of independent, diverse voices from the television dial, laying waste to President Barack Obama's promise to reign in runaway media consolidation. As a candidate in June 2008, he said: (GO TO ARTICLE LINK, BELOW)
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More ...with Quotes from Obama Campaign at:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/josh-silver/comcastrophy-comcastnbc-m_b_810380.html