COMCAST-NBC DEAL: Does the Merger's Approval Rest on Healthcare?

Big Government ^ | Dec 4, 2009 | CAPITAL CONFIDENTIAL

[veritas3]

I’ll be the first to admit that anti-trust law is not my strong suit. The myriad implications of cable giant Comcast’s proposed acquisition of NBC are complexities beyond the grasp of most mortals. Legions of attorneys will put legions of children through college with the fees that this transaction will generate. This is the kind of stimulus that will inject much-needed capital into the private country club sector of the economy. I’ll be the first to admit that anti-trust law is not my strong suit. The myriad implications of cable giant Comcast’s proposed acquisition of NBC are complexities beyond the grasp of most mortals. Legions of attorneys will put legions of children through college with the fees that this transaction will generate. This is the kind of stimulus that will inject much-needed capital into the private country club sector of the economy.

But beyond the regulatory and legal minutia that technically govern this proposed deal, one obscenely crass, downright offensive action by Comcast’s CEO warrants the application of withering scrutiny to the merger.

A day, one single day, after the two media giants announced their deal, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts proudly weighed in to strongly support the Senate Democrats’ health care reform bill.

Now Comcast is a big company, with about 100,000 employees. I’m sure health care costs have a big impact on their bottom line. But the bottom line impact on Roberts’ personal net worth will be much greater if the federal government, with a big say-so from the US Senate, approves the $13 billion deal.

[veritas3]

If you have the time, read the over 400 comments that follow this article. All are mad and dropping COMCAST.

Our family has 4 COMCAST accounts, and none are pleased with Comcasts service or billing. All were looking for other carriers for TV & Internet. This may be our final reason to dump COMCAST.

The comments posted seem to like Dish network for being Politically Neutral. But their internet service is lacking, and satellite doesn't work well in storms.

Do fellow Freepers have recommendations for Television & Internet providers that are Unbiased, provide good service and at a reasonable price.

I have friends with AT&T Uverse that are happy with it. Are AT&T's politics neutral?

Thanks for any good recommendations you may have. I'm tired of Comcasts service, fees, and now their politics, and plan to change carriers ASAP......but need a good carrier to change to.

[FlingWingFlyer]

Big Business and Big Government crawling in the sack together sure has spawned one big, greedy, ugly kid. I liked America a hell of a lot better than the monster they produced.

[Caipirabob]

I have friends with AT&T Uverse that are happy with it. Are AT&T's politics neutral?

Swapping Comcast for AT&T is like swapping AIDs for Hepatitus C.

[RedMDer]

We dropped Comcast about a year ago and switched to Verizon Fios.
With phone, internet and cable. Its a lot less expensive and with more channels and HD.
So far so good. We’re happy.

[Pearls Before Swine]

Swapping Comcast for AT&T is like swapping AIDs for Hepatitus C.

Not a bad swap, IMHO.

[Wiseghy]

MANY people I know are dropping cable altogether and just watching HULU...for FREE.

I understand HULU may be forced to add some fees in the future. However, I am still glad to be rid of Comcast.

I watch my favorite shows at my leisure and finish them in about 45 minutes, with only a few 15 or 30 second breaks here and there. The short breaks make the shows much more enjoyable.

Adding in their CEO’s obvious pandering with his HC comments, I’d say Comcast can kiss my big, red....pinkie ring.

[Keflavik76]

My email to Comcast:

As a long time Comcast customer I’m concerned how comcast has jumped in bed with the Obama whitehouse and just recently cast their support for Obama care. Is Comcast concerned that they may lose thousands of customers to disk network or other alternate networks? I don’t want the money I pay Comcast to go toward electing officials that support policies and laws I disagree with. The next time my comcast high speed internet drops out I will be tempted to look for a friendlier provider.

“Comcast chief executive Brian Roberts made more than $76,000 in political contributions to Democrats since 2006, compared to $13,500 in contributions to Republicans. Comcast vice president and top lobbyist David Cohen made about $180,000 to Democrats in the same period, compared to $12,000 to Republicans, according to OpenSecrets.org.”