Comcast accuses Time Warner Cable deal critics of ‘extortion’

Comcast says Netflix and other companies lining up against its proposed $45 billion union with Time Warner Cable have something in common: attempted “extortion.”

In a filing with the Federal Communications Commission, Comcast says the companies made “self-interested requests” of the cable giant, “almost always with an express or at least an implicit offer to support” it’s Time Warner Cable bid if the demands were met. Comcast calls out high-profile opponents of the deal, including Netflix, Discovery Communications, and DISH, for having engaged in such tactics. “The significance of this extortion lies in not just the sheer audacity of the demands, but also the fact that each of the entities making the ‘ask’ has all but conceded that if its individual business interests are met, then it has no concern whatsoever about the state of the industry, supposed market power going forward, or harm to consumers, competitors or new entrants,” the company wrote.