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Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin

(108,192 posts) Sat Apr 25, 2015, 09:12 PM Apr 2015

128 lobbyists fail on Comcast deal

WASHINGTON — Comcast spends more than any other company lobbying Washington. Its chief executive has golfed with President Barack Obama. Its executives raise cash for Democrats — all for when they need something in return.
This time, it didn't work.

The largest U.S. cable company Friday dropped its merger with Time Warner Cable, the No. 2 cable operator. Two federal agencies had balked at the $45.2 billion tie-up proposed last year in a twist to the narrative that says deep connections guarantee big results in Washington.

“Nobody would have imagined, because everyone assumed it was this well-connected political juggernaut,” said Harold Feld, senior vice president of the policy group Public Knowledge that opposes the deal. Instead, Feld said, “the Obama administration has been tightening up.”

Comcast's world has changed since the announcement. Activists who claimed a victory in February with federal net neutrality rules opposed by cable companies then turned their attention to blocking the merger. Regulators have sought to protect rival online video services that need fast connections to reach customers and could be harmed by the merger.

The company brought formidable muscle to its arguments. Philadelphia-based Comcast spent $17 million on lobbying and engaged 128 lobbyists in 2014, including seven former members of Congress, according to data gathered by the Center for Responsive Politics.

http://www.theheraldbusinessjournal.com/article/20150425/BIZ02/150429373/128-lobbyists-fail-on-Comcast-deal-#

$7 million down the toilet [URL=http://www.sherv.net/][IMG]

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128 lobbyists fail on Comcast deal (Original Post) Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin Apr 2015 OP

ooops....they gotta raise your rates now to make up for it! dixiegrrrrl Apr 2015 #1

Thank you, Minnesota, for Al Franken. LiberalAndProud Apr 2015 #2

dixiegrrrrl

(60,010 posts)

1. ooops....they gotta raise your rates now to make up for it!

Reply to Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin (Original post)

Sat Apr 25, 2015, 10:30 PM

Apr 2015

From what I read, Comcast shot itself in the foot on this deal, because the last time they merged with a company ( forgot the name of it)
they made agreements with the FCC in exchange...and then violated them all.

Karma's a bitch, eh?

LiberalAndProud

(12,799 posts)

2. Thank you, Minnesota, for Al Franken.

Reply to Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin (Original post)

Sat Apr 25, 2015, 10:44 PM

Apr 2015

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