The proposed $61 billion acquisition of Time Warner Cable by Charter Communications isn’t popular with everyone.
The “Stop Mega Cable Coalition” launched today with the goal of raising awareness about what it says are “substantial harms” of the proposed merger.
The Coalition proposes that the merger would form a new “Mega Cable” company which, along with Comcast, would create a duopoly in the high-speed broadband market that could result in stifled competition from innovative streaming services, decreased opportunities for independent, diverse programmers, reduced competition across a range of related technologies, and increased costs for consumers, all while bringing even worse customer service.
“Once again we are faced with a proposed cable merger that threatens the emergence of robust competition for streaming services,” said Gene Kimmelman, president and CEO of Public Knowledge. “This merger, as proposed, would create a cable giant that, alongside Comcast, would control the overwhelming majority of high-speed broadband homes in this country, most of which have very few competitive options. This proposed transaction would create strong incentives for Charter and Comcast to coordinate their treatment of video programmers and broadband video distribution in ways that could damage competition and harm consumers.”
The Stop Mega Cable Coalition brings together public interest groups, media and telecommunications businesses, trade associations, labor organizations and other parties, inlcuding Cincinnati Bell, Dish Networks, Media Alliance, among at least a dozen others.
The Coalition is calling on the FCC and DOJ to solve the problems it sees with the merger.
“This merger demands the highest degree of scrutiny,” said Kevin Rupy, vice president of USTelecom, in a statement. “The stakes of this merger are too high – for both consumers and the future of the broadband marketplace. Regulators and elected officials must ensure that the threatened harms to consumer choice, competition and innovation are fully addressed.”
Dish is already on the record in asking the FCC to reject the merger entirely, noting that further cable industry consolidation could endanger internet TV service innovations.
“If the proposed merger is approved, 90 percent of the nation’s high speed broadband homes would be controlled by two companies, and the combined ‘New Charter’ would have every incentive to sabotage OTT services like Sling TV that compete with the old school cable bundle,” Jeffrey Blum, Dish senior vice president and deputy general counsel, said in a statement. “The proposed merger is harmful for consumers, competition and innovation, and should be denied.”
