TV Chief Takes 2-by-4 to a Proposed Cable Merger

Patrick Gottsch, the chairman of the Rural Media Group, says Comcast’s proposed $45 billion purchase of Time Warner Cable threatens the future of his television stations, which broadcast rural-themed shows like “The Mollie B Polka Party,” “National Tractor Pulling” and “All American Cowgirl Chicks.” And he urges people to file protests about the merger with the Federal Communications Commission, which is reviewing the deal.

“There can’t be a wall built between urban and rural America,” Gottsch says. Gottsch, 61, has emerged as one of the country’s most vocal critics of the proposed media consolidation, which would reshape the video and broadband landscape. His warnings about the Comcast deal, as well as AT&T’s $48.5 billion bid for DirecTV, echo a fear that some television groups have expressed about the pending mergers: The deals would create behemoths that will use their heft to push around networks, forcing them to either cut the fees they charge for their programming or risk being thrown off the air. Some executives say the consolidation would result in challenges for new networks, especially those with niche or underserved audiences, and a lack of diversity on TV.