Comcast recently asked for approval to buy NBC. If I Were King, I would block the transaction and go another step: requiring Comcast to divest all programming sources. To me this is a classic vertical monopoly, no different than the Standard Oil of the 1930s that was broken up by anti-trust action. In that case, if I remember my history well, Standard Oil owned oil wells, refineries, distribution and gas stations, the entire vertical supply chain, and thus could unfairly manipulate prices.
In this case, Comcast owns, for instance, Versus and has jacked DirecTV -- a competing distributor of entertainment -- for such high rates on Versus that DirecTV dropped the channel, depriving millions of subscribers the option to get it.
Unfortunately, Congress has become toothless on issues of monopoly and trust and as a result we have a significantly anti-consumer pro-big-business environment.
Comcast should be forced to divest all its programming sources and not be allowed to purchase NBC.
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