FCC Gives Comcast Opponents More Time to Respond
Variety reports that the FCC is giving opponents of the Comcast-Time Warner merger more time than originally scheduled to reply to Comcast’s case for the deal.
The FCC is pausing its 180-day “shot clock” on its review of the proposed merger of Comcast with Time Warner Cable, giving opponents of the transaction more time to submit responses to a lengthy and strident Comcast filing last month.
Last month, Comcast submitted a filing of almost 850 pages that responded to criticisms of the merger, and the FCC said that because it contains new information that was not part of Comcast’s original merger application, “additional time is needed to evaluate it.” The agency also said that Comcast still needed to submit additional materials on the merger that it asked for in a data request in late August.
The Verge clarifies:
Rather than closing on October 8th, the period for reply comments on the Comcast-TWC merger will now close on October 29th. Additionally, the FCC is pausing its 180-day “transaction clock,” which is a self-imposed timeline that it uses to let the public know when to expect its decision. The clock, which is currently on day 85, will resume on October 29th, once all of the comments are in.
On Friday, the FCC said in a letter to the companies’ executives that Comcast and Time Warner Cable had submitted their responses belatedly, and the agency’s staff “has found that a number of the answers in each of your submissions are incomplete.”
Comcast said it answered all the FCC’s questions and will work with the reviewers to sort out what is missing.
“We will work with the staff to determine the additional information the FCC is seeking (including the document production that the FCC had asked us to delay filing) and will submit supplemental answers and documents quickly thereafter so that the FCC can complete its review early in 2015,” Comcast spokeswoman Sena Fitzmaurice said in a statement.
