Comcast, GE Make Case for NBCU Deal

WASHINGTON: Comcast Corporation and GE, seeking regulatory approval for their NBC Universal deal, have committed to keeping broadcast TV free, upping kids’ content output and bolstering local news programming in their submission to the FCC.

The filing to the FCC identifies the ways in which the merged company will advance the FCC’s public policy goals of diversity, localism, competition and innovation. Referencing competition, the submission makes the case that the joint venture "will create new opportunities to better serve consumers. NBCU and Comcast will be stronger, more effective players in video programming and distribution, spurring other content producers and distributors to invest and innovate, thereby enhancing competition."

On the innovation front, meanwhile, the filing notes: "Combining Comcast’s expertise in multiplatform content distribution with NBCU’s extensive content creation capabilities and television and film libraries will foster innovation by accelerating the ‘new media’ future of in-home and mobile entertainment."

The filing stresses that the transaction is "pro-competitive" and states that "there is no plausible basis for claims that the proposed venture will have anti-competitive effects. First, combining Comcast’s and NBCU’s cable programming assets will give rise to no cognizable competitive hard. In total, the new NBCU will account for about 12 percent of overall national cable network advertising and affiliate revenues, still trailing Disney/ABC, Time Warner and Viacom." The submission goes on to say that "numerous diverse voices and a vibrantly competitive local advertising market will remain" in those areas where Comcast controls both cable systems and broadcast stations. Moreover, the combination of the two companies’ Internet assets "poses no threat to online competition."

The companies identified 16 voluntary public interest commitments that are intended to increase the "quantity, quality, diversity and local focus of video content and accelerate the innovative anytime, anywhere future that Americans want." Number one is that the combined entity will continue to provide free TV through broadcast stations and affiliates. "Comcast will continue its cooperative dialogue with affiliates toward a business model to sustain free over-the-air service that can be workable in the evolving and technological environment."

The list of commitments also includes the preservation and enrichment of local news and public-affairs programming on the owned-and-operated stations, and expanding the reach of that output through Comcast’s on-demand and online platforms and through time slots on cable channels. Further, the on-demand and online platforms, as well as a portion of the local stations’ digital spectrum, will be used to feature children’s content. The cable platform has also pledged to keep at least 15,000 titles free of charge on its on-demand service, adding a further 5,000 choices within three years of the closing of the transaction.

Comcast also committed to adding two new independently owned channels to its digital lineup each year for the next three years once it has completed its digital migration—slated for no later than 2011.