Comcast – NBC Universal merger draws differing views at Chicago hearing

The Federal Communications Commission held a public hearing on Tuesday in Chicago on the proposed $30 billion dollar merger of Comcast and NBC Universal. More than a dozen panelists from the business community, civic projects and academia raised serious concerns about the deal. But the hearing also drew supporters. Chris Geovanis reports from Chicago:

TRANSCRIPT:

If the proposed merger between Comcast and NBC is approved, the new corporation would have unprecedented control of both the creation and delivery of content on the nation's largest cable and high-speed internet provider, as well as in emerging broadband-based delivery systems.

Josh Silver is co-founder and president of the Free Press, which advocates for media and technology policy in the public interest. He says the merger would be yet another giveaway to industry giants at the public expense:

If the proposed merger between Comcast and NBC is approved, the new corporation would have unprecedented control of both the creation and delivery of content on the nation's largest cable and high-speed internet provider, as well as in emerging broadband-based delivery systems.

Josh Silver is co-founder and president of the Free Press, which advocates for media and technology policy in the public interest. He says the merger would be yet another giveaway to industry giants at the public expense:

JOSH SILVER: Policymaking at the behest of the largest companies across industries is threatening our economy, our oceans, our security and the very viability of our democracy. Just look at the ongoing recession or the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico for the most recent examples.

With the web emerging as a vital tool for content delivery, some industry observers are worried about the future of the internet.

The internet is not the friend of the incumbent media companies in America , because it generally lowers the barriers of entry on which they have relied so far.

Susan Crawford is on the faculty of Cardozo Law School in New York City:

SUSAN CRAWFORD: The problem is that this very popular NBCU (NBC Universal) content may allow the building of a moat that no competing online video distribution provider will be able to cross in the short term. That may not be good for consumers, for new online industries, or for society as a whole.

Opponents argue that the merger reinforces Comcast control of the pipeline that people use to reach the internet including alternative print and video news and views on the web. At the same time, the merger gives Comcast vast new control of the production of -- and access to -- content, a mix that opponents fear invites censorship and unequal treatment of competing providers, including civic producers of information. And that prospect could undercut the larger public good.

MICHAEL COPPS: The last few decades, with all too brief interruptions, have not been kind to the public interest.

Michael Copps was the only one of five F.C.C. Commissioners to attend Tuesday's hearing. He emphasized the need to protect the public interest, which he said has been neglected in past decades.

COPPS: On top of the industry consolidation that developed from the hyper-speculation of recent years, hyper-speculation blessed by government- not just in communications but across a whole wide swath of our economy's activities- we also witnessed a rapid deterioration of public interest oversight by the Federal Communications Commission, the very agency charged by law to protect consumers. Put those two together, bad private choices and equally horrendous public policy choices, and you end up with serious harm to the basic tenets of the public interest: localism, diversity and competition. I am not of the opinion that our media environment can take too many more bad choices. Our failure to recognize the power and centrality of media to our civic life has cost this country dearly.

Comcast did have supporters in the crowd. Company contractors, employees and recipients of Comcast charitable donations testified, and painted a glowing picture of the company's largess.

Shelly Lewis is executive director of Little Angels in Elgin, Illinois, a 57-bed facility for severely disabled children and young adults, who got a free digital TV upgrade from Comcast:

SHELLY LEWIS: For two consecutive years, more than 100 Comcast employee volunteers have performed many chores around our grounds, all as part of the annual "Comcast Cares" day. In addition, a local Comcast executive is a member of the board of directors of our not-for-profit arm, and has provided invaluable assistance and direction for numerous large fundraising events.

But merger opponents were unimpressed.  Vicki Cervantes is a local community media producer:

VICKI CERVANTES: We don't believe that the role of the F.C.C. is to make decisions based on how generous a company may be to community organizations, but on what's good for democracy in media and democracy in this country.

Cervantes' commitment to democracy in media may be trumped by corporate interests in this case. Many opponents in attendance on Tuesday thought it likely the F.C.C. would approve the proposed merger. The F.C.C. is still accepting public comments on the deal.

Chris Geovanis, Free Speech Radio News, Chicago.

Photo: NBC Universal

Photo credit: nan palmero