Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) has, to the annoyance of entertainment industry types and the government, been acting as if its effort to acquire NBC Universal is a fait accompli. The cable operator has repeatedly said that it expects the deal to close by the end of the year--even though it has extended its purchase agreement with NBCU parent General Electric for another 90 days.
Opposition, meanwhile, continues to pile up to the deal because, as the New York Times editorially emphasized today, it is "not the classic 'horizontal merger' between two companies that do the same thing."
Comcast's control of the pipes that deliver the content is what has the Times worried. "Regulators do not need to rush," the paper stated, because "the combined company would have the ability, and the incentive, to hamstring online innovation."
For more:
- the New York Times has this editorial
- and see this story
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