Arrogance PLUS: Comcast publicly names their new management staff while still negotiating merger

[Amerigo Vespucci]

November 22, 2010 04:00 PM
Comcast vs. FCC, or How to Be Arrogant and Presumptuous While Negotiating a Merger
By karoli

Comcast is evidently so confident they will receive approval of their merger that they've named their new management staff publicly while government officials fume behind the scenes at their arrogance. And why not? I can't think of any recent megamergers that have been denied by our brave and fearless regulators, can you?

“For a deal this large, and one that hasn’t been approved, Comcast’s behavior is presumptuous and arrogant,” one of the officials said.

Those officials did not want to be identified commenting on the negotiations. But the episode encapsulates what seems to be the differing attitude of Comcast on one side, and the Federal Communications Commission and Justice Department on the other: Comcast believes the proposed merger is an all-but-foregone conclusion, while the government is saying “just hold on a minute.”

The 180-day merger clock runs out on Wednesday, although an extension can be made without consequence. Sticking points appear to be what bother all of us: When (or if) this deal closes, Comcast will control everything from creation to delivery to pipelines to ticket sales. It will be a complete silo, start to finish, with monopolies in local markets and burgeoning control of Internet content whether or not one is actually a Comcast customer.

http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/comcast-vs-fcc-or-how-be-arrogant-and-presu

[Hawkeye-X]

1. I hope FCC tells COmcast to choke on a bone

and unanimously reject the merger.

There is no need for more media consolidation.

[FiveGoodMen]

2. I hope so, too.

But that sure doesn't sound like anything our current government would do.

I've lost count of how many "this petition is you last chance to stop the merger" emails I've gotten.

They must not work.