Proposed deal would stifle competition, lead to higher prices

In a letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and Attorney General Eric Holder yesterday, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree urged the government to block a proposed merger between Comcast and Time Warner.

Pingree said the proposed merger would lead to less competition and could result in higher prices and fewer choices for consumers.

"In the end, a merger between Comcast and Time Warner will lead to higher rates, less competition and a loss of innovation and choice in programming. In short, it will be bad for the American consumer and this merger should not be allowed to go through," Pingree wrote in her letter.

Together, the two companies would serve more than a third of the US cable market and half of all "bundled" customers, who get internet, TV and telephone service all from one cable company. Pingree raised concerns about prices, service and the effects on a free and open Internet.

"Access to broadband should not be jeopardized by further market concentration in an entity that not only has a last-mile monopoly in large swaths of the country, but also control over must-have broadcast content," she wrote in the letter.

Comcast already owns major production and distribution companies and has forced Netflix to pay a premium so its subscribers can watch video online without interruption. Pingree says a merged Comcast/Time Warner would have an economic incentive to stifle competition and by virtue of their size be in a unique position to demand payments from competitive video services like Netflix or Hulu.

Pingree also says she is concerned about the effects on Time Warner workers in Maine and across the country.

"We don't know the effects on employees or employment levels that a merger would have but it could very well lead to job losses. I think Comcast and Time Warner should be clear about what a merger would mean for jobs," she said.