Massive Comcast Lobbying Army Pushing NBC Deal Approval – Including 78 former government employees…


The Governors of three large states are urging federal regulators to approve Comcast’s planned acquisition of a controlling stake in NBC Universal for $13.75 billion. In a letter to the FCC, Governors David Paterson of New York, Arnold Schwarzenegger of California and Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania say that “the significant benefits associated with the creation of this new joint venture far outweigh any potential harms.”

Comcast has also been busily snapping up ex-politicians to help carry their water, and there’s currently 78 former government employees registered as Comcast lobbyists working to push the deal through (in addition to all the other lobbyists, PR firms, consultants, trade associations, think tanks and other hired policy vessels). Says Politico:

In all, 78 former government employees registered as Comcast lobbyists in the final quarter of 2009 and the first quarter of 2010, according to an analysis by the Investigative Reporting Workshop. The most common background among those identified in the workshop investigation is congressional staff, but there also are four former members of Congress: Reps. Robert Walker (R-Pa.), who is referred to as “Congressman Walker” on his firm s website; William Gray (D-Pa.); Chip Pickering (R-Miss.); and former Sen. Don Nickles (R-Okla.). . . 54 former government workers list the Comcast/NBC deal as a specific lobbying issue on their disclosure forms, while 14 describe their activity ambiguously enough that it could include the merger.

Also working for Comcast now are former aides to Democratic FCC Commissioners Copps and Adelstein. Obviously a revolving door between regulators and lobbying is nothing new, but this is a particularly massive operation. Of course consumer advocates and others continue to argue that such a massive corporation controlling both pipe and content can only end badly for consumers and others in the content delivery chain.

Still, is there anyone willing to bet on this deal not getting approved?
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Original story here.

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