FCC Wants More Adelphia Merger Data

[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
Although the FCC's informal 180-day merger-review period for the Comcast/Time Warner Cable takeover of Adelphia expired last week, the Commission has sent an 11-page questionnaire to the companies. They have until December 19 to address the request for new and extensive company information about the merger, covering such topics as regional-system consolidation, sports-programming contracts, carriage of unaffiliated programmers and potential evasion of program-access rules. Many of the questions were broad and involve disclosure of competitively sensitive information, including programming contracts between the cable companies and Fox News Channel, Cable News Network, TV One and eight other networks. Some have argued that the $17.6 billion Adelphia deal will leave Comcast and Time Warner with excessive power over new and established programmers and the ability to punish Internet-based voice and video providers that represent competitive threats. The Federal Trade Commission is also reviewing the merger.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6289521.html?display=Breaking+News
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