DirecTV: Comcast/NBCU Conditions Should Be Open-Ended

DirecTV told the Federal Communications Commission that conditions on the Comcast/NBCU merger should last for at least six years, but after that should only be lifted when and if Comcast/NBCU can demonstrate they are no longer needed.

According to an ex parte filing, DirecTV executives told Joshua Cinelli, media advisor to FCC Commissioner Michael Copps, that the deal conditions should be at least as long as those in the News/Hughes and Adelphia/Comcast/Time Warner Cable deals, and that those conditions should include online access and arbitration provisions because the deal presents "a combination of broadband and content never seen before" at a time when the convergence of that content gives Comcast the opportunity and incentive to withhold it from competitors, like DirecTV, or discriminate in pricing.