Did Comcast Fool the FCC?

Do the conditions that the Federal Communications Commission imposed on the merger of Comcast and NBC Universal have any real teeth? We may find out soon, thanks to a complaint against Comcast that Bloomberg LP is set to file with the FCC -- perhaps as soon as this week.

Bloomberg will allege that Comcast is violating a condition regarding “neighborhooding”­—that is, grouping similar channels together on the dial so that viewers can find them more easily. The condition, imposed to prevent Comcast from using its cable systems to shut out competitors to networks like MSNBC and CNBC that it now owns, specifies, “If Comcast now or in the future carries news and/or business news channels in a neighborhood... Comcast must carry all independent news and business news channels in that neighborhood.” Bloomberg argues that Comcast is neighborhooding those channels, and that it’s violating the condition by keeping CNBC competitor Bloomberg Television out in a nosebleed section.