Potential Implications of the Creation of a New Mega-Media

Running Head: Potential Implications of the Creation of a New Mega-Media
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Comcast Corporation is the largest internet service provider and cable operator in the United States of America. The corporation holds a number of networks and related businesses such as telephone services, cable TV and broadband internet.
In December 2009, Comcast announced that they would like to enter into partnership with the General Electric, a proposal that was to make Comcast`s and NBC universal sharing the cable networks and provincial games network. Comcast was to own 51% of the total shares from the deal while General electric was to own 49%.The deal was meant to create the leading entertainment and media company with the ability of providing the internationally most admired sports , films, news, entertainment and movies to people everyday. The deal was to cost the two companies almost $37 million. (Stephen G., 2010)
The deal was however seen as a threat to the local media industry. According to the letter written by Maxine Waters, member of the congress to the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, the letter indicates that the Comcast-NBC merger could have a potential impact on the already heavily unified media industry. Maxine Waters based his argument on the conflict that currently exists between the merger and the News Corporation concerning the fees it should pay the media group to carry Fox programming. He continues to argue that a potential harm could result if a dispute arises between Comcast-NBC merger and a competing cable provider company. With the lack of tangible and other public interest terms, the combined Comcast-NBC could be harmful to competition amongst the local cable and TV companies and could as well limit the public from accessing autonomous and different sources of entertainment and information. Therefore the letter indicates that NBC-Comcast merger deal could kill localism, competition and diversity amongst different media and entertainment companies. (NewsBat Media. 2010)
Similar to the way Fox is denying other Cablevision customers from accessing its contents, a dispute of such a nature could result if Comcast Corporation could be allowed to use its possession of NBC content as standard in settling higher tariffs for rivalry cable companies and content providers. While Comcast-NBC universal does not charge itself a carriage fee, it charges other companies higher rates, lashing out players out of business, resulting in less customer preferences. The merger company could as well withhold access of its online content from rivalry ISPs or charge rivalry internet programmers higher fees to use its broadband policy to launch online media and entertainment contents. (Tvbizwire 2010).
Currently, Comcast Corporation is the largest cable company with cable franchises in 39 states, with around 23million customers and 15 million high speed internet ...