Critics want to block Comcast-NBC deal

Comcast's potential takeover of General Electric's NBC Universal would damage competition and should be blocked by U.S. regulators, advocacy groups said.

"The only beneficiaries of this deal are the industry titans who already enjoy too much market power," Josh Silver, executive director of Free Press, said Friday.

GE and Comcast, the largest U.S. cable company, are in talks to create a company that would include New York-based NBC Universal, people familiar with the matter said last month.

Comcast would own more than 50 percent of the venture, including the NBC broadcast network and cable channels USA, CNBC and Versus.

A "national campaign" to block the deal is being organized, Silver said on a conference call with reporters.

Others on the call Friday included representatives of the Consumer Federation of America, and the Communications Workers of America, which represents employees at Comcast and NBC.

NBC Universal properties also include a film studio. Comcast serves 23.8 million video customers and provides high-speed Internet service to 15.7 million.

"If this deal goes through, Comcast would have control of marquee content and three major distribution platforms: Internet, broadcast and cable," Silver said.

"We've never seen this kind of consolidated control across so many platforms."

A merger would "eliminate" competitive rivalry between Comcast and NBC, which has begun posting some video on the Internet, Mark Cooper, director of research for the Consumer Federation of America.

If antitrust officials don't block the deal, they could demand such conditions as forcing a sale of the TV stations, and offering NBC video to Web sites not controlled by Comcast, Cooper said.

"The simpler and more direct way to preserve competition is to just say 'no,' " Cooper said.