Small Cable Operators Seek 'Granite Strong' Comcast/NBCU Conditions

A group of 40 self-described "smaller" cable companies, all members of the American Cable Association (ACA), filed a letter with the Federal Communications Commission arguing that the Comcast/NBCU deal would mean they would pay higher prices for so-called must-have content even though they do not compete head-to-head against Comcast in their markets.

They say that is because they do carry either a Comcast regional sports network (RSN) and NBCU cable networks, as well as an NBC station on some of the systems. "When multiple blocks of this 'must-have' programming are combined under single ownership, what little bargaining leverage we have to resist unjustified increases in carriage fees will be reduced materially. This is because Comcast-NBCU can then threaten to withdraw all of these blocks of 'must-have' programming simultaneously," they argued. "Even though none of these providers competes head-to-head with Comcast, they'll still need to negotiate with a single entity for both a Comcast RSN and NBCU's suite of national cable networks," said ACA President Matt Polka. "For ACA members, the default position in any dispute with Comcast-NBCU will be to pay more for all Comcast-NBCU programming."