New York Gov Cuomo could unplug Comcast-TWC merger

Apparently, Gov Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) and other New York state leaders are planning to tie Comcast’s $45 billion acquisition of Time Warner Cable up in knots. Changes to state rules that would give cable regulators more power were put on the table during closed-door budget talks two days ago, sources said. In addition to giving New York State’s Public Service Commission (PSC) added bite, the rule change would put the onus on Comcast to prove that its mega-merger with TWC is in the public interest, the sources said. This guilty-until-proven-innocent new rule is quite a change from the current rule, which requires the PSC to show why any acquisition fails the public interest test. Gov Cuomo is discussing giving the PSC much greater oversight of the proposed cable combo, making it almost impossible to finalize, the sources stated. “This could essentially kill the deal,” one source said. If the change is OK’d, it would be in line with similar rules gas and oil companies must follow, said a Cuomo administration official.