Death of Comcast/TWC Prompts Cheering From Blumenthal, Franken, Markey
Some senators lauded the news that Comcast would no longer be seeking to buy Time Warner Cable. “The collapse of this proposed merger is a major victory for consumers,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said. “This merger would have led to…
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higher prices, fewer choices, and poorer quality services for Americans.” The deal “would have created a corporate colossi,” said Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., also celebrated the news Friday. He was one of the first critics of the deal and led several senators, including Blumenthal and Markey, in a letter to regulators urging opposition to the deal early last week. The FCC and Justice Department appear to have taken “into account Comcast's abysmal record of adhering to the conditions of its acquisition of NBCUniversal -- one of the chief reasons I believe Comcast could not be trusted with so much power,” Franken said, noting the deal “would have given a single company control over 57 percent of high speed Internet and created a telecom giant the size of which we’d never seen before. It’s a good thing the deal is dead.” Comcast spent many millions on lobbying in the last year, in Q1 spending $4.62 million, up from $3.09 million in Q1 of 2014 (see 1504220050). It hired lobbyists with expertise in Hill antitrust policy (see 1412230028) and argued in favor of the deal, suggesting it had merit and wouldn't have reduced competition. Few lawmakers outright opposed the deal despite many questions throughout two long hearings before the Senate and House Judiciary Antitrust subcommittees.