FCC Still Sitting on Adelphia Deal

FCC STILL SITTING ON ADELPHIA DEAL
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
Cable-industry insiders said they don't know what it’s going to take to prod the Federal Communications Commission to act on the Adelphia Communications Corp. sale to Time Warner and Comcast. Cable-industry officials who asked not to be identified don't think FCC chairman Kevin Martin is holding up the merger in an effort to impose a la carte conditions on Time Warner and Comcast. Chairman Martin’s strategy could be that instead of the FCC adopting a la carte conditions, the agency is waiting for Comcast and Time Warner to volunteer a la carte proposals acceptable to Martin. The merger is supposed to close by July 31. Time Warner and Comcast have agreed to pay $16.9 billion for bankrupt Adelphia’s 5 million subscribers. The Federal Trade Commission approved the deal without conditions Jan. 31, but the FCC has had it under review for 370 days (as of June 9), making it one of the longest-reviewed cable deals in recent FCC history. One source indicated that Martin's goal was to force Time Warner and Comcast to beef up their family tiers by adding ESPN in response to concerns that cable subscribers won't buy a family tier without that popular sports network in the package.
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