Upton Wants FCC to Expedite Review of Comcast, NBC Merger

Regulators Concerned About What Comcast-NBC Merger Means For The Internet
Here's hoping Waxman manages to plug up the worst Loopholes before this deal gets rammed through, because they're right: the future of the Internet will be greatly affected by this Merger. Is there no merger too large that the Justice Department won't rubberstamp? .Although there has been a lot of talk in media circles about what Comcast's ownership of NBC Universal would mean for viewers' choice of news and entertainment, the two branches of the Federal Government reviewing the merger — ...

Sanders tells FCC to block NBC-Comcast merger
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) wrote to the Department of Justice on Tuesday urging them to block Comcast's proposed acquisition of NBC Universal on the grounds it would damage the media landscape by reducing competition and increasing prices. "Because this Merger would lessen competition in three separate markets, and because it would put our media landscape in grave danger, I urge you to deny approval," Sanders wrote to assistant Attorney General Christine Varney. Sanders has been one of the mo...

Upton: No net-neutrality rules for NBC-Comcast
Incoming House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) wrote to the Federal Communications Commission on Friday urging them not to impose net-neutrality conditions on Comcast as part of the proposed acquisition of NBC Universal. Upton said the only thing the commission should be reviewing is whether or not the new entity would be able to unfairly influence the markets for video content creation and distribution to the detriment of consumers. He warned against using the merg...

OVERNIGHT TECH: Opposition building to Genachowski's net neutrality proposal
Net Neutrality advocates come out against Genachowski's plan Opposition to Federal Communications Commission chairman Julius Genachowski's open Internet proposal is building on both the left and the right ahead of a potential vote on the proposal at the Commission's December 21 open meeting. A group of net neutrality advocates declared their opposition to the plan during a meeting with Democratic FCC Commissioner Michael Copps on Thursday. A number of prominent individuals and organizations in...

Comcast, the biggest cable company in Bay Area and nation, looks to get bigger
WASHINGTON -- Comcast is by far the biggest pay-TV provider in the Bay Area. It controls TV rights to Giants, A's, Sharks and Warriors games. Many of its customers also sign up for high-speed Internet service. And the company, if it has its way, is about to get a whole lot bigger. In a deal valued at $30 billion that was announced a year ago but has received scant attention outside the nation's capital, Comcast is attempting to buy a majority share of NBC Universal. The Merger would give the nat...

Comcast, the biggest cable company in Bay Area and nation, looks to get bigger
WASHINGTON -- Comcast is by far the biggest pay-TV provider in the Bay Area. It controls TV rights to Giants, A's, Sharks and Warriors games. Many of its customers also sign up for high-speed Internet service. And the company, if it has its way, is about to get a whole lot bigger. In a deal valued at $30 billion that was announced a year ago but has received scant attention outside the nation's capital, Comcast is attempting to buy a majority share of NBC Universal. The Merger would give the nat...

Sanders slammed Comcast merger during epic speech
During his eight-and-a-half-hour Speech against President Obama's tax Compromise with Republicans, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) also took on another of his favorite topics: the pending Merger between Comcast and NBC Universal.  His Friday speech, labeled a #filibernie on Twitter, included a few bars of criticism about the mega-merger under review by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Justice Department. Sanders wants the deal blocked.  "I think it is a bad idea," Sanders said...

Universal creating Syfy film label
Looking to create some corporate synergy and expand its successful TV brand, Universal Pictures is teaming with its sibling Cable Network, Syfy, to launch a new movie-production unit. Beginning in 2012, Syfy Films, a joint venture of the two NBC Universal-owned companies, is to produce one to two Science Fiction, fantasy, supernatural or Horror Movies a year that will be released by Universal Pictures. Its focus is somewhat similar to Rogue Pictures, the horror, thriller and comedy...

Bernie Sanders: Block the Comcast Takeover of NBC Universal, Would Create Anti-Competitive Media Monopoly
Warning that a huge media monopoly would drive up Cable Television prices and stifle the free flow of information, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today urged the Department of Justice to block Comcast's planned takeover of NBC Universal.   The senator's concerns about the Comcast-NBC deal were detailed in a letter that he sent to Christine Varney, the assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust division at the Department of Justice. "Especially in an age of entrenched corporate power...

A look at possible conditions in Comcast, NBC deal
Federal Regulators are considering a number of conditions to ensure that Comcast Corp. cannot use its control over NBC’s vast media empire to stifle the growth of online video. Their key concerns: — The darkest fear of companies in the Internet video market is that Comcast could withhold or ratchet up prices for popular NBC Universal programming, including hit shows such as “30 Rock” and “The Office.” So Regulators may force Comcast to abide by the Federal Com...

SavetheInternet.com 'Can-You-Hear-Us-Now-a-Thon' Delivers 2 Million Petitions to FCC
Source: freepress.net/press-release SavetheInternet.com ‘Can-You-Hear-Us-Now-a-Thon’ Delivers 2 Million Petitions to FCC FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date: December 13, 2010 Contact: Craig Aaron 202-265-1490 x 25 Jenn Ettinger 202-265-1490 x 35 WASHINGTON -- SavetheInternet.com Coalition allies and Activists kicked off a marathon of petition deliveries at the Federal Communications Commission on Monday morning — with plans to drop off 50,000 signatures every hour until the public comment period cl

Key net-neutrality advocates oppose Genachowski's plan
A who's-who of the most influential net-neutrality advocates has decided to oppose Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski's plan for regulating Internet lines, which he announced earlier this month. The groups declared their opposition to the proposal in a meeting with Democratic FCC Commissioner Michael Copps and his staff on Thursday. The groups released the ex parte document describing the meeting on Monday. "At the outset of the meeting, the participants expres...

History Channel has year to remember
There's an old saying that those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it. Fortunately for the History Channel, that's a good thing. The Cable Network saw its prime-time audience grow by 35% this year, according to Nielsen. History Channel, which is co-owned by Walt Disney Co., NBC Universal and Hearst Corp., averaged 1.6 million viewers in Prime Time. Its audience among adults 18-49 was up by 34%, to 754,000. Both were the biggest gains of any top 10 cable network. Of course, ...

Time Warner Takes a Shot at Netflix
For the past year, executives at big media companies have watched Netflix with growing resentment — for its success in delivering movies and television shows via the Internet, for its stock price nearly quadrupling, for its chief executive being named businessperson of the year by Fortune Magazine. Jeffrey Bewkes, chief of Time Warner, played down the market clout of Netflix. Time Warner Inc. Now many of the companies that make the shows and movies that Netflix delivers to mailboxes, co...

FCCs Open Internet proposal heading for defeat?
Conservatives have kept a close eye on Julius Genachowski, chair of the FCC, especially after his first attempt to regulate the Internet by regulatory decree got slapped down by Congress.  Now it looks like the chastened Genachowski has lost the Left, too.  His scaled-down “Open Internet” proposal had no chance of winning support from the conservatives on the FCC board, and his Net Neutrality allies are urging the Democrats on the panel to oppose it as well: Opposition to Federal...

Dan Abrams and Dave Zinczenko, Friends and Partners
TWO wolves were eating at the Lion. Dan Abrams, NBC’s chief legal analyst and founder of the Mediaite Web site, was sharing a table at the boisterous Greenwich Village restaurant with Dave Zinczenko, editor of Men’s Health and author of the best-sellers “The Abs Diet” and “Eat This, Not That.” The men are active investors in the Lion, their first Joint Venture in a decade of friendship that tends to be characterized in the gossip pages as “bachelors in a...

CNN Will Host First Republican New Hampshire Primary Debate
You can really feel the thrill of the season, can’t you? Republicans filling their sleighs with high hopes and heading over the river and through the woods to Iowa and New Hampshire. Now, like the coming of It’s a Wonderful Life, comes a date certain for our first GOP debate in New Hampshire, the “First in the Nation” state-at least to politicos. CNN announced today it would host the Republican Candidates’ debate, in association with New Hampshire’s Unio...

FNC Touts Two SC Debates
Cable network and Palmetto State Republican Party to present first confab May 5 in Greenville. Second debate details TBD. Get The Page delivered to your inbox. newsletter today!...

Virgin Atlantic Says Several Parties Are Interested in Tie-Up
Virgin Atlantic Airways, the airline that said six months ago it is interested in a Merger deal, has attracted approaches from several parties. "We've received a number of lines of enquiry," Virgin spokesman Greg Dawson said in a statement, according to Bloomberg News. Deutsche Bank AG's work on the plan will take a number of months and it's "far too early" to give details, Dawson said. Dawson confirmed the discussions after Sky News reported that Delta Air Lines (DAL) was exploring a deal w...

NBC/WSJ poll: Nearly 60% approve of tax deal
With the Senate's final approval of President Obama's Compromise tax deal -- and with the House expected to take up the measure tomorrow -- nearly 60 percent approve of its major components, according to a new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll. When respondents were told that the agreement would extend the Bush-era Tax Cuts -- for all income levels, including the wealthy -- for two years in exchange for a one-year extension of Unemployment Benefits and a temporary reduction of Payroll taxes, 59 perce...

NBC introducing new singing competition format
The network said Monday that it will debut "The Voice of America" in the spring. Its format is based on a popular show in Holland where celebrities are paired with amateur singers in competition. The twist is the celebrities must pick their teams based solely on hearing their voices without seeing what the contestants look like. "Survivor" producer Mark Burnett and "Big Brother" producer John De Mol will work together on the series. NBC says it's not yet clear whether the show will compete direc...

NBC Challenging 'American Idol' With 'Voice Of America'
Live Feed: NBC is teaming with Mark Burnett and John de Mol to launch a new singing competition program that takes aim at Fox's American Idol and its upcoming series The X Factor. The broadcaster has acquired the rights to The Voice of Holland, a format created by Reality TV pioneer and media mogul de Mol. Since debuting earlier this year, The Voice has become a top-rated show in the Neatherlands, with one report claiming its 3 million viewers make it the most-watched talent show ...

NBC introducing new singing competition format
The network said Monday that it will debut “The Voice of America” in the spring. Its format is based on a popular show in Holland where celebrities are paired with amateur singers in competition. The twist is the celebrities must pick their teams based solely on hearing their voices without seeing what the contestants look like. “Survivor” producer Mark Burnett and “Big Brother” producer John De Mol will work together on the series. NBC says it’s not yet...

MTV Unveils New Music Discovery Website
On Tuesday, New York-based MTV, which is owned by media giant Viacom, is launching the beta test of a new “music discovery” website called MTV Music Meter. It’s a new-school effort from an old-school player. “This list is a pure hotness list,” Shannon Connolly, Vice President of Digital Music Strategy at MTV said in an interview with Wired.com. “We are intentionally presenting artists to the user that are high-ranking in velocity.” Velocity, in this case...

One Wave Networks selects 360networks for Internet Transit Service to Expand Service Offerings and Market Reach
SEATTLE, Dec. 14, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- 360networks, a facilities-based wholesale provider of Ethernet and Private Line Transport, IP, VoIP, and Local Access services announced today that it has deployed Internet Transit Service for One Wave Networks, a provider of voice, data and wireless networking solutions serving businesses throughout Idaho. "We were looking for wholesale alternatives to support our expansion into key Idaho markets," said Nate Bondelid, One Wave Networks' co-founder.  ...