Senate Committee Begins Its Review of Comcast Deal

Comcast took its case for acquiring Time Warner Cable to Capitol Hill, arguing at a Senate hearing that its proposed $45 billion takeover would benefit consumers by generating greater investment and more competition among cable-television and broadband companies.

The Senate Judiciary Committee, which oversees antitrust issues, is reviewing the merger, which has generally been supported by conservative lawmakers and opposed by Democrats, who fear that it will result in higher bills for consumers for cable and high-speed Internet service.

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) who is chairman of the committee, said in an opening statement that the impact of the merger on consumers is probably the most important consideration in determining whether the deal should go ahead. “Consumers do not want to hear complex legal jargon or obscure regulatory terms,” Sen Leahy said. “They want to know why their cable bills are going up. They want to know why they do not have more choice of providers.”

Comcast CEO David Cohen did acknowledge that Comcast has a reputation for leaving its customers dissatisfied. “It bothers us that we have so much trouble delivering a high quality of service to customers on a regular basis,” he said. But it is trying to improve, he added, by hiring more service employees and improving training.

Comcast executives are expected to face tough questions from some Judiciary Committee members, like Senator Al Franken (D-MN), who has written to regulators asking them to take a hard look at the deal. “I’m very concerned that consumers are going to get stuck with higher cable and Internet prices, fewer choices and even worse service,” Sen Franken said, when asked what his questions will focus on during the hearing. “Comcast has an army of lobbyists pushing this deal, but during this hearing we need to make sure that consumers’ voices are being heard, too.”

The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division and the Federal Communications Commission have begun their inquiries into the merger, which would join the two largest cable-television and broadband companies.