Comcast Acquisition of NBC May Require Working With Apple

The Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission are likely to impose significant conditions on the Comcast acquisition of NBC to prevent the company from withholding, or threatening to withhold, NBC Universal's programming from competitors, especially those that distribute over the Internet, such as Apple and Netflix, according to the WSJ.

The FCC is also looking at all parts of Comcast and NBC Universal's combined online-video distribution chain for ways Comcast could promote content over its rivals. The agency is considering imposing a "net neutrality" condition on Comcast's Internet network, banning it from deliberately slowing or blocking legal traffic.

The FCC is expected to have its proposed conditions ready by mid-December and the Justice Department could announce its decision within weeks if the conditions are accepted.


Comcast is of course saying that regulators should stay out of the "rapidly evolving" online-video market.

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