CLAIRE McCASKilL
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WASHINGTON. DC 20510
January 7, 2011
COOO"ITTlE$:
AflMED SERVICES
COMMERCE. SCIENCE AND
TRANSPORTATION
HOMELAND SECURITY
AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
SPECIAl COMMrITEE ON AGING
AD HOC SUBCOMMIITEE ON
CONTRACTING OVERSIGHT.
e-
The Honorable Julius Genachowski
Chairman
Federal Communications Commission
445 It
h
Street, SW
Washington, DC 20554
Dear Mr. Chairman,
I am writing to express concerns about the proposed merger between Comeast Incorporated and NBC
Universal, Inc. (NBCUI, which is currently under review by the Federal Communications Commission.
If completed, this merger will combine one of the nation's largest providers ofvideo content with the
largest cable company and largest provider of residential broadband service. I understand and
appreciate that Comcast will continue to support local news and public affairs programming but this
merger could result in fewer program choices while potentially raising prices for consumers.
Accordingly, I believe that this combination requires your careful review, in order to ensure that
consumers are not harmed and that the transaction is truly in the public interest.
In particular, I have strong concerns regarding the viability of independent programming on Comcast
platforms, should this merger be consummated. As you know, Section 616 of the Communications Act
(47 USc. § 536) prohibits cable and satellite operators from engaging in conduct that unreasonably
restrains "the ability of an unaffiliated programming vendor to compete fairly by discriminating in video
programming distribution on the basis of affiliation or non-affiliation of vendors". However, some
stakeholders suggest that Com cast and other multichannel video programming distributors have a
history of placing independent and unaffiliated programming on premium tiers while placing content
that it owns on more widely-distributed basic cable tiers. These actions may violate the spirit, if not the
law in Section 616. I am also concerned that they may become more commonplace following this
merger, as Comcast will have even greater programming interests than it does today, including several
top-rated national cable networks and a major movie and television studio.
Moreover, while the statute is designed to prevent such discriminatory behavior from occurring, the
regulatory dispute process for independent program carriage is both onerous and expensive. In
practice, this deters independent programmers from filing complaints. As a result, I believe the
Commission should impose enforceable conditions to guard against the potential harms that are specific
to this merger, in order to protect the ability of independent programmers to access audiences over
Comcast systems and protect the diversity of video programming in the marketplace. Further, I believe
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you should work to ensure that consumers whom have already experienced substantial inflation in cable
rates will not experience new, disproportionate rate increases as a result ofthe merger.
Thank you for your consideration.
Claire McCaskill
United States Senator