WGA Wants Comcast-Time Warner Merger Blocked

The Writer's Guild of America is painting a not-so-rosy picture of television if the FCC allows the Comcast-Time Warner merger. The WGA filed a brief on Friday urging the FCC to deny the merger citing the control Comcast would have over broadcast and cable networks. The proposed merger would also give Comcast-Warner 30% control of the broadband internet market. The WGA fears such control could lead to networks being forced to agree to "terms and rates set by Comcast" and limit online video competition. The brief also mentions previous anticompetitive behavior, citing Comcast's use of data caps for competing streaming services. We think the Guild has laid out an excellent case against the Comcast-Time Warner proposed merger. Considering the lack of "sufficient" competition due to deregulation and subsequent consolidation through mergers, much of broadcast television and cable is in the hands of a few companies. Ironically the FCC has a web page titled "What We Do". The first bullet point is "promote competition"!