Standing Up to Comcast

A day before the Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing on the proposed merger between Comcast Corporation and its biggest rival, Time Warner Cable, Comcast filed a lengthy report with the Federal Communications Commission arguing that the proposed deal would benefit tens of millions of television viewers and Internet users. On its corporate Web site, Comcast promised, “Together, Comcast and Time Warner Cable will make life online better for more people by bringing faster Internet speeds, a more reliable and more secure network, low-cost Internet access, and programming diversity to millions of new customers across the country.”

Before you have a fit laughing, there’s more. In a blog post accompanying the filing, David L. Cohen, Comcast’s executive vice-president, disputed the widespread belief that his company is a rapacious monopoly, determined to tighten its grip on the markets for cable television, broadband access, and video-on-demand so that it can raise prices even further. “It’s understandable why any large merger will attract questions about competition and consolidation. But this particular transaction actually raises few competition concerns,” Cohen wrote.

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