Recap: Consumers, Competition, and Consolidation in the Video and Broadband Market

The Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing on March 11 to investigate issues raised by the proposed merger of Comcast and NBC Universal.

Although it was the fourth Congressional hearing on the deal, it was the first to included testimony from the heads of the two agencies that will review the deal -- the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division and the Federal Communications Commission. However, both were restricted from discussing any specifics while it is still under government review. They pledged to closely scrutinize the transaction's impact on consumers and the marketplace. While the FCC's focus will be on how the transaction will serve the public interest, the DOJ will review the deal for its effect on competition. The FCC is set to release its public notice on the transaction in the next three days. The DOJ has also begun its review and the size of the deal will not be the determining factor in an antitrust review.

Senators views on the role of those watchdogs fell largely along party lines. "When companies swell to include both content and distribution we need to pay attention," said Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV). "It is vitally important that when we have mergers in these markets, consumers cannot be left with less programming and higher rates." Sens Maria Cantwell (D-WA), John Kerry (D-MA), and Byron Dorgan (D-ND) all raised concerns about the deal. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) cautioned the regulators not to use the merger as a platform to extend outside policy objectives. "Mergers at the commission have not stayed as narrow as they should. ... They have frequently been used as a policy proxy making forum," Sen Hutchison said.

Writers Guild of America West President John Wells warned senators that the deal would create a media "superpower" and give too much control to a few multinationals. Without safeguards, he told the Committee, Comcast would be in a position to limit consumers' ability to get TV shows over the Internet for free, cut back on news, and raise cable prices.

Mark Cooper of the Consumer Federation offered testimony arguing that the deal would need tough conditions, but beyond that, that the FCC also needs to toughen its rules on access to programming and a host of other issues so that the changes were industry-wide and not just deal-specific.