Coalition wants state AGs to investigate NBCU-Comcast merger

The proposed merger of NBC-Universal and Comcast would create a media monopoly that poses a grave threat to consumers, according to a letter from a coalition of public interest groups and private organizations. The Coalition for Competition in Media, which includes Bloomberg, Free Press, National Organization for Women, Parents Television Council, and the Writers Guild of America wrote to the National Association of Attorneys General and five state Attorneys General August 4 asking them to scrutinize the proposed acquisition, which they say would give Comcast unprecedented control of media distribution and content in the US.

The letter states the most affected markets would be those where Comcast is the dominant cable and broadband provider and would own one or more local NBC station, the local Telemundo station, and a regional sports network. Those markets include Boston; Chicago; Denver; Fresno; Hartford; Houston; Miami; Philadelphia; Tucson; Washington, D.C.; and the San Francisco Bay Area.