USA Today has an article on the FCC’s proposal to allow cable companies to reach as much as 45% of the national cable audience, up from the current limit of 30%.
“The increase could spur the formation of more cable giants, such as the recent AT&T-Comcast merger. The new Comcast is the USA’s biggest cable provider, serving 28% of pay-TV homes.
But rather than set a rigid 45% cap, the FCC staff is tentatively proposing a flexible limit of 30% to 45%, which the commissioners could alter based on the competitive concerns a given merger might raise. “
Since cable companies are almost always local monopolies, aren’t we just moving closer to a big national monopoly? How different is it from the old national Ma Bell when maybe 2 or 3 local monopolies control all of cable TV (along with much of consumer broadband data services) in the country?
Hello AT&T-Comcast-AOL/TimeWarner/Turner! The only choice for 45% of the population!
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