President Trump appeared to back a push by small cable providers for the Department of Justice to reopen an investigation into Comcast’s purchase of the NBC network.
“American Cable Association has big problems with Comcast,” he said Monday on social media platform Twitter. “They say that Comcast routinely violates antitrust laws.”
In a letter to Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim on Nov. 6, the ACA warned that the Comcast-NBCUniversal merger posed a greater threat to competition than the AT&T-Time Warner merger the Trump administration is currently attempting to block.
American Cable Association has big problems with Comcast. They say that Comcast routinely violates Antitrust Laws. “These guys are acting much worse, and have much more potential for damage to consumers, than anything AT&T-Time Warner would do.” Charlie Gasparino
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 12, 2018
“Comcast-NBCU has shown a willingness to harm rivals,” the group wrote. “The Antitrust Division should immediately open an investigation into the firm’s behavior.”
As part of the settlement with the Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department to advance the NBC purchase during the Obama administration, Comcast was required to divest its minority stake in streaming service Hulu and ordered to offer content to online distributors at the same price that it charged cable or satellite distributors.
The consent decree expired at the end of August 2018, but the Justice Department warned Comcast it would continue to monitor the company’s behavior.
Comcast’s stock was down slightly in New York trading.
At a press conference last week, Trump criticized an NBC reporter for defending CNN’s Jim Acosta after a heated exchange between the two, saying he wasn’t “a big fan.” The president has repeatedly criticized NBC itself on Twitter, accusing its news reporters of covering his administration unfairly.
[Also read: Political ads buoy Comcast profits despite dwindling TV subscribers]
NBC News has totally and purposely changed the point and meaning of my story about General Robert E Lee and General Ulysses Grant. Was actually a shoutout to warrior Grant and the great state in which he was born. As usual, dishonest reporting. Even mainstream media embarrassed!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 14, 2018
In its letter to Delrahim, the ACA said Comcast-NBCU’s position as the “dominant multichannel video programming distributor” in local markets, coupled with its ownership of “must have local programming,” poses competitive threats. The group also expressed concerns over Comcast’s ability to restrict access to Hulu, given that “customers increasingly seek over-the-top options to prime offerings.”
“Without a leash, it can engage in a much wider range of bad behavior and, if it gets caught, merely use its deep pockets to play out the clock or, at worst, ask for forgiveness. Rivals operating in such an environment and their customers that want choice have much to fear,” the ACA wrote.
In response to the ACA’s request, a Comcast spokeswoman said the company is “competing in this dynamic environment the way we always have — by continuing to innovate and conducting our business in compliance with antitrust laws and other legal requirements.”
“We believe that ACA’s letter is without merit and constitutes an inappropriate attempt to gain leverage in the commercial marketplace,” she said in an emailed statement.
Comcast declined to comment on Trump’s tweet.
