Comcast is ingratiating itself with influential players in the nation’s capital as it seeks congressional approval for a $45 billion merger with Time Warner Cable, the second largest cable provider in the country, according to a forthcoming report from the Washingtonian.
Should Congress give Comcast its blessing, the merger would grant the media giant control of nearly half of the nation’s broadband Internet coverage.
To this end, Comcast is reportedly schmoozing journalists, congressional staffers and other influential persons in Washington, D.C., Washingtonian senior writer Luke Mullins reported.
However, the bit about Comcast is buried deep, deep within Mullin’s profile on NBC News’ David Gregory, making it quite an impressive buried lede. Halfway through the profile, Mullins drops this information about Comcast:
Republican lawmakers, including Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, have voiced concern over the proposed merger, suggesting that the deal could be used to block conservative voices.
“This is an extremely large transaction, affecting both the video market and the Internet market,” Lee said during a congressional hearing in April. “A complicating factor arises given that Comcast owns NBC Universal.”
“Considering the significant share of the video and Internet market that the new Comcast would have, and considering the well-known political leanings of NBC, I’ve heard concerns that Comcast might have the incentive and the ability to discriminate against certain political content, including, for example, conservative political content,” he said, adding that “proposed merger between Comcast and Time Warner has implications for two markets that affect the everyday lives of most Americans.”
