WASHINGTON — The head of the Federal Communications Commission is proposing regulatory conditions to ensure that cable-TV giant Comcast Corp. cannot stifle competition in the video market once it takes control of NBC Universal.
The conditions laid out Thursday by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski are intended to guarantee that satellite providers and other rival television services can still carry marquee NBC programming and that new Internet video distributors can get the content they need in order to grow and compete.
Comcast’s takeover of NBC Universal could have profound consequences for the nascent market for Internet video — a market that could eat into Comcast’s core cable-TV business if enough consumers drop their cable subscriptions in favor of low-cost alternatives online.
Genachowski wants to ensure that Comcast won’t be able to use its control over NBC’s vast media empire to withhold content from emerging online competitors such as Netflix Inc., Inc. and Apple Inc. — locking consumers into costly monthly cable bills to get access to a wide range of popular programming.
Genachowski needs at least two of the four other FCC commissioners to back his proposal, and he is likely to make modifications to win the support he needs to cap off the yearlong regulatory review.
The FCC is expected to approve the deal, with conditions, early next year.
The deal also faces scrutiny at the Justice Department, which has been working closely with the FCC and is likely to impose conditions similar to whatever the FCC ultimately approves, subject to its own ability to enforce them under antitrust laws.
Comcast suggested that it could accept what it believes to be in Genachowski’s proposal.
