The Comcast deal would not make things better

[Commentary] The Washington Post’s editorial on Comcast’s proposed takeover of Time Warner Cable [“Cable merger,” April 15] served up a rather tepid endorsement of the mega-deal, saying the government should okay the merger, but “keep a close eye” on the new company.

Considering the poor track record of these two cable and Internet giants and the power they would wield as a single company, this merger should be flatly rejected.

The editorial correctly raised concerns about the conflicts of interest that could lead Comcast to give preference to its own products on the wires it owns. But it dismissed the very real prospect that a bigger Comcast could discriminate heavily in negotiations with content creators, which would likely be passed on to consumers in the form of even higher prices.

[Derakhshani is policy counsel with Consumers Union, the advocacy arm of Consumer Reports]