Gov. Cuomo and other state leaders are planning to tie Comcast’s $45 billion acquisition of Time Warner Cable up in knots, The Post has learned.
As first reported on NYPost.com, changes to state rules that would give cable regulators more power were put on the table during closed-door budget talks two days ago, sources said.
In addition to giving New York state’s Public Service Commission (PSC) added bite, the rule change would put the onus on Comcast to prove that its mega-merger with TWC is in the public interest, the sources said.
This guilty-until-proven-innocent new rule is quite a change from the current rule, which requires the PSC to show why any acquisition fails the public interest test.
Cuomo is discussing giving the PSC much greater oversight of the proposed cable combo, making it almost impossible to finalize, the sources stated.
“This could essentially kill the deal,” one source said.
If the change is OK’d, it would be in line with similar rules gas and oil companies must follow, said a Cuomo administration official.
While the proposed new powers and rules could make state approval for the Comcast deal much harder to get, the official played down any specific intent of the move.
Rather, the official said, “We’re modernizing New York’s laws to reflect the realities of New York’s marketplace.”
However, others in Albany feel the move by Cuomo is aimed squarely at the deal.
The Cuomo proposal would add more provisions and expand the number of necessary steps to approval, one person said.
To be sure, the proposal has not been agreed to by everyone at the table.
Legislative leaders have a little over a week to finalize the budget’s framework.
Comcast doesn’t appear to be fazed by the rule change.
“We have seen the proposed amendments from the Governor,” a Comcast spokesman said in a statement last night, “and are not troubled by these amended procedures.”
“We are confident that the pro-competitive, pro-consumer benefits like faster Internet speeds and improved video options resulting from the transaction are compelling and will result in approval from the state,” the statement noted.
Meanwhile, in Washington, the prevailing wisdom is that Comcast will win federal regulatory approval — albeit with provisions.
But there are plenty of snipers in Washington, DC, waiting to let loose.
They include Internet groups, cable rivals, programmers and local authorities that hold cable franchise agreements.
Outside the Beltway, several state attorneys general, led by Florida’s, plan to join the Department of Justice in reviewing the deal, Reuters reported Wednesday.
Post-merger, Comcast would control 40 percent of the broadband market and around 30 million TV subscribers.
As part of a charm offensive, Comcast’s soft-spoken chairman and CEO, Brian Roberts, told USA Today in a video interview, “There’s no reduction in competition … there’s no overlap.”