- "There are essentially three options: OK the deal, negotiate a consent decree to impose conditions, or sue to block the deal. The first is not in play," says media lawyer Andrew Jay Schwartzman to CNN about the now somewhat shaky $45B Comcast-Time Warner Cable (CMCSA, TWC) merger deal, following a marathon day where Comcast executives sat down with the Justice Department and then the FCC.
- Comcast issued a statement saying it's not appropriate to share the content of the meetings.
- With no breakup fee, there's less disincentive for Comcast to up and walk away from the deal, which has been more than a year in the making. But that would depend heavily on whether the government sues to block the deal, or just seeks concessions to make it happen.
- Comcast's new sweetener is promising to expand its low-income "Internet Essentials" program that offers $10/month broadband to qualified households. Another statement from the company came today to "set the record straight" on the program, saying that critics are recycling old claims. (This must include articles like this one, referring to IE as Comcast's merger "trump card" and proclaiming it "bullcrap.")
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Critics say that while Comcast claims it's "one of the most successful, if not the most successful, private sector initiatives to close the digital divide ever," the company has signed up just 13.4% of 2.6M eligible households.
- Previously: Reuters: FCC staff sets Wednesday briefing on Comcast-TWC (Apr. 21 2015)