States getting into the Comcast/NBCU act

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Attorneys general in five states are concerned about the competitive effects of the merger of Comcast and NBCU, and have joined in the Department of Justice in its review of the case. And one state is taking the additional step of launching an inquiry of its own.


According to a Bloomberg report, the five states are New York, California, Florida, Oregon and Washington. Florida is the state that is also looking at the merger on its own.

Albert A. Foer of the American Antitrust Institute told Bloomberg that the activity is an indication of local wariness of the merger, and the involvement may be intended to make sure the DOJ does a thorough vetting of the merger. Foer said, “But if they put pressure on the Justice Department to take a more aggressive stance, and if they aren’t satisfied with what DOJ does, they could split off and take their own action.”