Bloomberg Asks FCC to Extend Comcast-NBCU Review

Bloomberg LP has asked the Federal Communications Commission to delay its comment deadline on the Comcast-NBC Universal deal for another 45 days, which would push the deadline into mid-September.

The current deadline is June 21 for comments and petitions to deny the deal. But Bloomberg, in a filing posted June 15, said that it, and the public, needs more time to vet new information the two companies submitted in two economic reports June 10 -- on the claimed economic benefits from the proposed $30 billion joint venture and the other on its impact on online video distribution. In a filing with the FCC, Bloomberg asks that it move the deadline to Aug. 5, which would push the deadline for oppositions to those comments to Sept. 4 and reply comments to Sept. 19. Bloomberg, which signed a protective order to gain access to confidential info about the deal, says it would not have adequate time to review information, given that the two-business-day wait to get copies of reports would leave them only three business days for reviewing them.