In an update to this diary, Bloomberg News is now reporting that the acquisition of Time Warner Cable by Comcast is toast.
Citing the usual anonymous sources, Bloomberg says a final decision is being made today and an official announcment could come as early as tomorrow.
One of the worst merger proposals in business history, from a consumer's point of view, was scuttled after it took a shot across the bow yesterday when the Federal Communications Commission staff decided that the commission's "best option" was to issue a “hearing designation order” and put the deal in the hands of an administrative law judge.
Combined with opposition from the Justice Department, the FCC move apparently persuaded the cable giant that it wasn't going to get its way.
That's the world from people that remain anonymous but are "familiar with the matter," according to the Wall Street Journal.
It's not over 'til it's over, though. Until an official announcement is made and the surrender is final, the two cable and Internet giants still could have an opportunity to make their case. David L. Cohen, Comcast's executive veep and "Chief Diversity Officer" posted a long comment on the company's website. He tells all about how it has brought Internet to thousands of people who might otherwise not have it and shares lots of nice comments about the program. What he doesn't do is make a case for how the merger of two media giants with combined Internet service to over half of America's wired households is going to do anything good for the American people.
Comcast is the same company that had to rename its Internet service to Xfinity in an attempt to distance it from Comcast's well-deserved reputation for abysmal customer service.
And there's its opposition to classing Internet service as a utility, spoiling plans to grace favored large, favored content providers with a higher quality of broadband service while restricting others.
Perhaps it was an oversight. Cohen didn't have much to say on those topics but he might have figured since they weren't involved with diversity, they didn't count. Perhaps those topics are reserved for Comcast's Chief Incompetence Officer and its Chief Oppression Officer.
As I said earlier, we can hope for the official good news before the weekend.