ACA: Comcast Doesn't Get to Define Valid Criticism

The American Cable Association took aim at Comcast's defense of its merger, saying it was engaged in a distraction campaign.  

Comcast, in its replies to deal challengers, slammed programmer critics of its proposed merger with Time Warner Cable as extortionists and advocacy groups as chicken littles.  

“Comcast acts as if an FCC merger review is a Lockean state of nature," Matthew Polka, president and CEO of the ACA, said, waxing politically philosophical, "a place where Comcast, by virtue of its power, gets to define what is and what isn’t a valid merger-specific criticism.  If Comcast can get away with that, does the FCC’s public interest standard even exist?” 

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John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.