Comcast-NBCU Still Could Get FCC Hearings

Comcast-NBC Universal still may face FCC field hearings even after the Media Bureau denied a request to pause review of the deal until holding the sessions (CD April 6 p10), agency and public interest officials said. Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Michael Copps have expressed support for the idea, and colleagues may not object if the hearings are scheduled, they said. The commission hasn’t made a decision, they said.

Representatives of three of the groups that sought the informational hearings said they're optimistic that they'll get at least one. That’s because the two Democratic commissioners want the hearings, and they'd show that the FCC is taking extra steps to be transparent and let people comment on the deal without making a filing, the activists said. A Media Bureau spokeswoman declined to comment.

"Having a hearing allows people to go talk to the commissioners and really put a face on it, and I think that’s important to the commission in its review,” said Policy Counsel Corie Wright of Free Press. “I'm hopeful that they realize and acknowledge that that’s the particular role they can play in vetting this merger” as part of the public-interest review. Free Press was one of the four groups that sought public hearings (CD April 8 p14) after the bureau denied the initial request by Mabuhay Alliance, representing Asian Americans. “What’s wrong with a hearing, if you're transparent and doing the right thing?” asked Executive Director Faith Bautista of the alliance. “It happens all the time -- all the big mergers.”

The Media Access Project, another group requesting hearings, will “press very hard for them, and I am cautiously optimistic that we will obtain them,” said Senior Vice President Andrew Schwartzman. “I think that the commission is going to see the broad public concern that’s being raised and this is a commission that is committed to transparency.” The last such hearing was held in 2000, said the four groups seeking hearings on Comcast-NBC Universal. A Comcast spokeswoman declined to comment.

Separately, Comcast and two groups concerned about the deal resolved disputes in which the merging companies at first tried to keep from some at the groups confidential documents filed with the commission. Free Press got the full economic analysis of the deal submitted by Comcast, NBC Universal and NBCU parent General Electric after agreeing to have Wright -- in addition to Free Press Policy Coordinator Adam Lynn, who had first sought the information -- sign an acknowledgment of confidentiality, Wright said. The three companies had contended that Lynn couldn’t get access because he’s not a lawyer and also didn’t qualify as an outside consultant, said an April 5 filing. That was resolved by treating Wright as an outside counsel under an exemption for nonprofits, she said.

American Cable Association Vice President Ross Lieberman said he also got access to documents. The companies initially said both he and ACA President Matt Polka shouldn’t be allowed to see them because they're not outside counsel, according to a March 25 filing. “Having to defend our right to see the confidential and highly confidential [information] for a small shop like the ACA took up limited resources that we have to focus on, not only the real issues in the Comcast-NBC deal but other issues that are important to ACA members,” Ross said. “Not being able to analyze the deal because of not having access to the thing was going to interfere with our ability to fully represent our members’ interests. That’s why we pursued being able to receive it.” It’s not unheard of for merging companies to insist that only outside counsel get access to confidential material, Schwartzman said. “While there have been similar kinds of issues raised in the past with access to confidential information, they [Comcast] are being unusually aggressive, and disappointingly so.”