Why Media Mega-Mergers Are Bad News for Latinos and Communities of Color

[Commentary] Comcast's decision to pull the plug on its $45 billion bid to buy Time Warner Cable is a huge victory for the Latino community and communities of color.

The merger would have combined the two largest cable providers in the country, giving Comcast unprecedented control over both pay-TV and high-speed Internet access markets. But in the end, approving such a massive media consolidation was unthinkable. As in the network neutrality fight, media justice, public interest and consumer rights advocates deserve tremendous credit for stopping this merger and for making sure the voices of everyday people were heard. For our communities, broadband access is of central importance. Allowing one company to control nearly two-thirds of the U.S. broadband market would have contributed to growing economic and media inequality for Latinos and other communities of color.

[Carmona is Executive Director of Presente Action; Torres is Senior External Affairs Director at Free Press]