As I'm sure you all heard, Comcast is trying to buy Time Warner. These two cable, internet and content providers are enormous, and the outcome of the merger will likely shape the landscape of American cable and internet services for years to come. Here is a great article about the risks of the merger, from Wired:
"If approved by federal regulators, the merger would reverberate through myriad markets beyond the cable TV, commercial broadband, and telephone industries. The deal could impact satellite TV, television programmers like ESPN and Fox, online video providers like Netflix and YouTube, and the massive networks at the very heart of the internet.Announced this morning, the pact certainly makes sense for Comcast — already the nation’s largest cable provider — giving it far more power to compete in the rapidly changing communications world. The company expects to close the deal by the end of year. But because it affects so many industries, the merger of the nation’s two biggest cable outfits is sure to receive intense scrutiny from regulators. The government may even block the deal, as it did with the proposed merger between wireless phone service providers AT&T and T-Mobile in 2011."
What do you think? Should the FCC block the merger? Can they? Why is the merger good? To be discussed in class next week!
