Competition Coalition Calls Comcast/NBCU Response 'Weak' Effort

Critics of the Comcast/NBCU merger, who banded together as the Coalition for Competition in Media (Bloomberg, Common Cause, Free Press, Media Access Project and the Writers Guild East and West among them), fired back at Comcast/NBCU's defense of its proposed deal.

"Comcast's reply filing is a weak attempt to make regulators and consumers forget that they still have not offered any reasoning as to why this merger is good for consumers," the coalition said. "The merger would give Comcast unprecedented power nationally and in local markets to control cable television and broadband Internet service and drive up costs for consumers. Given the serious threat posed by a merger of this size and the lack of answers from Comcast, the FCC and the Justice Department should stand up for consumers and oppose this merger as proposed."