Legal Niches

CBSaver: Comcast Merger Means Higher Prices For Consumers

By james_fudge

Cable bill negotiations service company CBSaver says that one of the consequences of the Comcast-NBC merger may be higher cable prices for cable subscribers. The company says that the FCC's recent approval of the merger is setting the stage for "accelerated cable rate increases nationwide."

This, they say is because the FCC's approval did not require any kind of commitment from Comcast to limit rate increases to the consumer price index (CPI), which has been averaged 1.5 percent since 2008. The absence of such an agreement during merger negotiations takes power away from the FCC because the 1996 Telecommunications Act strips the agency of any legal authority to review cable rates. If cable operators like Comcast and Time Warner want to raise your rates all they have to do is issue a public notice. CBSaver suspects that Comcast may pass on the additional costs of the $30 billion merger directly to its customers. Read More

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Full post as published by GamePolitics.com on January 28, 2011 (boomark / email).