Dow Jones
Comcast Corp.’s deal to acquire control of NBC Universal comes under the microscope on Capitol Hill Thursday, as two congressional committees hold hearings about the deal’s potential impact on consumers and Comcast’s competitors.
Comcast Corp. chief executive officer Brian Roberts and NBC Universal president Jeff Zucker are scheduled to testify in the morning at a House Energy & Commerce committee hearing and a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in the afternoon.
They are expected to argue that the combined companies are a more obvious fit than NBC’s current owner, General Electric Co., and in written testimony provided to lawmakers, say that the deal will “enable NBC Universal to become a more competitive and innovative player in the turbulent and ever-changing media world.”
Lawmakers are expected to raise questions about how the transaction could impact consumers cable prices and how it might impact the emerging market of online TV and cable programming distribution. More…