Bloomberg's opposition to Comcast-NBC deal

Cecilia Kang of The Washington Post writes about how Bloomberg LP has been the most vocal opponent of Comcast’s proposed deal to acquire NBC, the parent of business news network CNBC.

Kang writes, “Specifically, Bloomberg is concerned that a merger of the cable and media giants could relegate rivals — such as the Bloomberg TV channel — to cable television’s boonies. The New York-based financial information powerhouse has met with members of the Federal Communications Commission to ask that any approval of the merger come with the condition that Comcast put the Bloomberg TV channel near competitor CNBC.

“It may sound like an old media problem, but analysts and legal experts say Bloomberg’s concerns about its television interests point to broader questions about how a combined Comcast-NBC Universal could unfairly use its clout to undercut competitors.

“With a legal team that includes a former head of the Federal Communications Commission, Bloomberg has emerged as a powerful voice of opposition to Comcast and NBC’s proposed union, observers said.

“‘If you have a situation in which the main competition in news, CNBC, and the main distributor, Comcast, merge, they have an incentive to harm Bloomberg,’ former FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said in an interview last week.”

Read more here.