The Federal Communications Commission is close to approving the merger between cable-giant Comcast and NBC Universal. According to a Post Tech blog by Cecilia Kang published by The Washington Post, the chairman of the FCC has put together a draft proposal with conditions for approving the merger and issued it to the rest of the FCC members on Thursday.
The other four commissioners will now review the draft and have the opportunity to make any changes before voting on approval. According to Kang, people knowledgeable on the process expect the merger to be approved and finalized in January.
The proposal contains conditions to ensure that the merged Comcast-NBCU does not stifle competition on the Internet. The FCC said that they had concerns about business competition after the merger, including concerns about how the merger might affect online television and video programming distribution, especially since that area of business is still being carved out and defined. According to Kang, in the end, the FCC chairman decided that the merger would be good for consumers.
The Justice Department’s antitrust division is still reviewing the merger deal. The Justice Department has been working separately but closely with the FCC during the merger’s approval process.
Source:
FCC chair to approve Comcast-NBC merger with conditions for program sharing (The Washington Post)
Subscribe To This Blog’s Feed