Last week Allbritton Communications, which owns a number of ABC affiliates, regional cable news channels and Politico, among other outlets, submitted a filing to the FCC requesting that it impose conditions on the proposed acquisition of NBC Universal.
Comcast has now responded to Allbritton’s filing. According to a copy of the document obtained by TVNewser, Comcast tells the FCC that the Allbritton filing is “without merit” and says it violated the FCC’s established procedures for submitting documents that take issue with the proposed deal.
Allbritton improperly seeks to use this proceeding to extract concessions from Comcast while refusing to engage in reasonable negotiations, as the parties have in the past. In support of this transparently opportunistic purpose, Allbritton concocts a theory of harm that is belied by several important details about the parties’ business relationship and discussions that Allbritton failed to disclose. The Commission should reject this misuse of the transaction-review process.
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Comcast also takes issue with Allbritton’s claim that the new company would create a “media monopoly,” and cites Politico as evidence:
[That the new company would be a monopoly] is decidedly inconsistent with the record evidence in this proceeding and with Allbritton’s prior statements to Congress and is an especially ridiculous charge to be leveled by an entity that, in the Washington D.C. market alone, controls:A major network-affiliated broadcast station, WJLA-TV
A 24-hour news channel, NewsChannel 8
The most widely distributed political newspaper, Politico
One of the most popular political websites, Politico.com
A tip-sheet that the New York Times labels “the principal ear,y-morning document for an elite set for political and news-media thrivers and strivers,” Mike Allen’s Politico Playbook
Various other tip-sheets including Morning Score, Morning Money, Pulse, The Huddle, Morning Energy, Morning Defense and Morning Tech.
The proposed acquisition of NBC Universal needs to get regulatory approval by the FCC and DOJ before it can be closed.