Comcast preempts broadcast concerns

Comcast’s acquisition of Time Warner Cable will not affect deals with broadcasters, Comcast officials said. The deal could draw opposition from broadcasters. Anticipating those arguments, Comcast officials said that the acquisition will not affect the way the company negotiates with video programming providers, including broadcasters. “This is not going to have a dramatic impact on our ability to negotiate” with programmers, Comcast Executive Vice President David Cohen said. “It’s not something that the programmers will be upset about.” According to Cohen, the increase in Comcast’s subscriber base is not significant enough to affect the negotiations, which are “tilted pretty decisively [to] the programmer side.”