Comcast-Time Warner doesn’t pass the smell test

[Commentary] One thing is certain about Comcast’s proposed merger with Time Warner Cable: It doesn’t pass the smell test.

Comcast claims that the combination of the number one and number two cable companies will somehow enhance rather than diminish competition and lead to greater consumer satisfaction. Don’t worry, Godzilla will play nice on the playground. Comcast is just digesting its previous mega-merger, the takeover of NBC Universal that should have been blocked by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). That leaves Comcast controlling an empire that includes NBC, CNBC, MSNBC, USA Network, Telemundo and other networks. Here the merger doesn’t just impact the marketplace of cable; it threatens the marketplace of ideas.

The protection of free speech under our Constitution depends on citizens having access to many ideas, many sources, many ways of getting ideas and information. Letting mega-corporations consolidate control of key parts of the media infrastructure is a direct threat to that access. So blocking the merger, which should be a no-brainer, will require an aroused public opposition