The Comcast/NBC Universal Merger: What Does the Future Hold for Competition and Consumers?

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts and NBC CEO Jeff Zucker went in front of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust and Competition and the House Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications to defend their proposed merger. And while "Say Anything" was actually produced by competitor 20th Century Fox, that seemed to be the mantra of both CEO, as both got caught out in some creative truth stretching -- if not outright lies.

Following two congressional hearings Thursday on Comcast's proposed acquisition of NBC Universal, Comcast Executive Vice President David L. Cohen said in a blog post Friday that "we feel that we took an important step forward" in the firms' efforts to gain approval of their deal from federal regulators.

Comcast and NBC Universal didn't get a whole lot of love at Thursday's emotional Senate hearing on their proposed merger.

The proposed merger of Comcast and NBC Universal got two Congressional hearings on Thursday. The House Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet held a morning hearing. In general, Democrats talked about a careful and extensive review of potential anticompetitive harms, with a particular focus on access to online video, for which there are no program access regulations, the effects on broadband of combining the nation's top residential broadband provider with the fourth largest content provider and the effects on diversity and localism, among other topics. Republicans countered that the deal was between two companies with little overlap and presented few anticompetitive threats. They warned against turning the review into a referendum on criticisms of media in general or attempting to apply conditions in a game of "what ifs."

General Electric Chairman Jeffery Immelt sent Sen Orrin Hatch (R-UT) a $2,000 campaign contribution the same day his company announced a deal giving Comcast controlling interest in NBC Universal.

The tale of Comcast's remarkable rise in Washington tracks the story of how the cable giant built its business. In the same way that it aggressively grew its empire by acquiring one cable system at a time, the company has methodically added one lobbyist after another and steadily spread more money around the nation's capital as its interests expanded beyond the television screen.

Comcast and NBC Universal's parent company have showered campaign contributions on members of two panels holding hearings Thursday on the cable giant's proposed purchase of the television network.

Comcast posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit as it added Internet and phone subscribers, but its margins were hit by marketing costs as the No. 1 U.S. cable operator fends off competition from phone and satellite companies.

Sports programing, a must-have for US cable operators, could end up being the center of a battle between Comcast, NBC Universal and the companies' critics as regulators assess the joint venture's impact on consumers.

Progress and Freedom Foundation President Adam Thierer says the "sky is falling" approach by some activist groups to the Comcast/NBCU merger is overstated. According to a copy of his testimony...

Colleen Abdoulah, president of cable/ISP WOW!, plans to tell the House Communications & Internet Subcommittee that the Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department will likely need to put serious conditions on the Comcast/NBCU merger to prevent it from "beating the system" and engaging in anticompetitive conduct.

Comcast's proposed takeover of NBC Universal would be a "negative thing" if it reduces access to programs for viewers and competitors, said Rep Rick Boucher (D-VA), Chairman of the House Communications, Technology, and the Internet Subcommittee.

Before Comcast Corp. can transform the entertainment business by taking control of NBC Universal, it must convince Washington that the plan won't hurt rivals and consumers.

Brian Robert, chairman and CEO of Comcast; and Jeff Zucker, president and CEO of NBC Universal, are scheduled to testify before the Senate Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights Subcommittee chaired by Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) on February 4.