Comcast NBC Merger: Bad News for Hulu and MVPDs?

The deadline to file comments with the FCC on the proposed Comcast NBC Universal merger is June 21. The merger is being attacked on the usual anticompetition/antitrust grounds, based on the size and marketshare of the companies in cable and broadcast TV. However, some speculate the merger will mean the demise of Hulu, the popular free Internet video site, which competes on some levels with Comcast as a video provider. NBC currently owns about a third of Hulu. The concern is not only that Comcast would gain enough power to shut Hulu's doors, but also that the incentive would be greatly increased for limiting network traffic to such sites. ("Net Neutrality," the idea that ISPs should be barred from placing content- or provider-based limitations on their networks, is of course another hot topic at the FCC.)

The FCC has just announced it will be holding a public hearing on the Comcast/NBC merger in Chicago on July 13 [pdf].

Cities with Comcast as a cable operator are looking closely at Comcast's practices in light of this opportunity to comment on the merger. Find information about Bradley & Guzzetta's effort to oppose Comcast's new HD Technology Fee here [pdf].