Worried about the wave of media consolidation? Well, here’s more grist for the mill. Cable giant Comcast denies ad sales to it’s competitors. Take a look at this USA Today story.
Qwest Communications fired the first shot Monday in a potentially important fight over Comcast’s refusal to air its DSL ads. DSL is the top rival to cable’s lucrative high-speed Internet offering.
“By denying us access, you are blocking a customer’s ability to learn about all the choices in the marketplace and to make an informed decision,” Qwest CEO Dick Notebaert wrote to Comcast CEO Brian Roberts in a letter obtained by USA TODAY. “It smacks of censorship.”
…Cable operators have long refused to air DSL ads, arguing that the First Amendment protects that right — and that phone companies can still reach potential customers via local TV, radio and billboards.
But critics say that antitrust considerations may now come into play as cable operators consolidate. Comcast became No. 1 last year when it acquired AT&T’s cable operation, giving it more than 21 million subscribers.
“There’s no First Amendment protection to use a monopoly to violate the antitrust laws,” says Media Access Project CEO Andrew Jay Schwartzman.
