Business network Bloomberg TV has been a vocal opponent of the proposed Comcast acquisition of NBC Universal, arguing that if Comcast controlled CNBC it would have the incentive and the means to disenfranchise competing networks like Fox Business and itself.
Last month, Comcast seemed to respond to Bloomberg indirectly in an FCC filing, but in a new filing, the cable operator takes direct aim at the channel, calling it “naïve” and saying that “taking Bloomberg’s numbers at face value would produce absurd results.”
Bloomberg has argued that the FCC should make “neighborhooding” a condition of the proposed deal. Such a condition would require Bloomberg and FBN to be placed next to CNBC on channel lineups.
Comcast has shown that Bloomberg’s proposed neighborhood condition is both unnecessary and unrelated to the transaction. Bloomberg’s naïve view is that channel positioning on a grand scale can easily be accomplished by flipping a few switches. Not so.
Will the FCC buy Comcast’s argument? We won’t find out until it renders its decision on the Comcast/NBCU deal.
The entire letter is embedded after the jump.