Baker Finds FCC ‘Pitfalls’ in Comcast-NBCU Review, Including Web Curbs
FCC Commissioner Meredith Baker criticized review of Comcast-NBC Universal by the agency as having taken too long and imposed too many conditions, including about broadband deployment and online video. She expanded on a concurrence that she and Commissioner Robert McDowell put out concerning the order approving Comcast’s purchase of control of NBC Universal. The deal stands to benefit consumers and other content companies, and the commission should have stuck to its 180-day voluntary shot clock for decisions on mergers and acquisitions and not imposed conditions that don’t directly relate to the NBCU deal, Baker said in a recorded interview to be shown on C-SPAN Saturday and Monday.
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As with past deal reviews, in Comcast-NBC Universal “unfortunately, I would have to say that we've fallen into the same pitfalls” of taking too long and attaching conditions not pertinent to the transaction, Baker said. “This is a big merger and it should be thoroughly vetted. But I think we could do it in a more timely manner.” The deal was approved on day 234 of the shot clock, which was paused and restarted as the agency requested additional information from the companies. A Media Bureau spokeswoman declined to comment on Baker’s remarks.
Linking deal conditions and the businesses of the companies involved is missing in some instances in the Comcast-NBC Universal order, Baker said. She cited the requirement that Comcast build out its broadband network to an additional 400,000 households, among the pledges that the company made to win FCC approval. “While this may be an exciting move, it seems nowhere is there a nexus between a programmer and a distributor that causes us to force them to build out broadband,” Baker said. The commission approved Comcast-NBC Universal 4-1 Tuesday (CD Jan 19 p1) and released the order Thursday. (See the item in this issue.) The order runs 272 pages, excluding commissioner’s statements and including appendices.
Concern about online video programmers being affected by the joint venture of NBC Universal and Comcast’s programming assets -- to be controlled by the cable operator with a minority interest owned by General Electric -- “is a legitimate concern,” Baker said. “But I think the broad scope of the condition and the duration of seven years is problematic.” That’s “a really long time to have a condition when those people who are actually doing it don’t know what its going to look like anyway,” she said of Internet video. There are many different plans for making money on Internet video, Baker said. “There are just a whole host of voluntary conditions that are just extraneous to the deal."
An unspecified Internet backbone provider’s recent FCC filings on net neutrality show how far some companies will go to use the net neutrality order to seek relief, Baker said. She likely was referring to Level 3’s complaint against Comcast, and she noted that last month’s order excluded backbone providers because their market was considered competitive. “We are already seeing companies try to game the system and define net neutrality broader so that we will take part in some of those commercial disagreements between carriers,” Baker said. She said she hopes the 1996 Telecom Act will be updated by Congress, “because I do think we are trying to work with an outdated Communications Act.”