sutton049

The $2.4 billion merger of Media General and Meredith Corp. local television stations is being lauded by the companies as delivering shareholder value and by media critics as a sign of dangerous media concentration.   What the merger really reveals is the weakening of local television market profits and increasing efforts by station owners to seek cost efficiencies and scale advantages in operations and local advertising sales--a common strategy in mature and declining businesses. The merger will put the new firm, Meredith Media General, into third place in local television station ownership. It will have 88 stations in 54 markets, including 40 of the big network affiliates in the top 25 markets. The firms are expecting the merger to produce $80 billion in savings in the first two years. Because of the financial pressures on local stations, large media owners such as Tribune, Sinclair, and now Media General and Meredith are trying to buy market share through mergers and acquisition...

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has adopted rules designed to halt cable system operators from retaliating against independent channels when there are business disputes or discriminating against them in favor of ones in which they ownership stakes. The rules are intended to ensure that the monopoly power of cable operators is not used to deny viewer choice or harm competition channel providers. One rule is designed to prohibit systems from dropping channels when there are business disputes with systems that have been taken to the commission for resolution. Another rule is designed to create a more level playing field for independent channels by making it possible for them to reach more viewers. Comcast Corp., for example, has been accused in recent years of forcing competitors’ sports channels into premium packages that fewer viewers select. Given that price rises for cable services have far outstripped inflation rates in recent years, that service providers cr...

The Federal Communications Commission has moved to keep Internet service providers from limiting or unreasonably discriminating against content provided by competing services The regulations are designed to keep telephone and cable companies that provide phone services from using their Internet services to limit use of Skype and other online telephone services. It is also intended to halt them from making content provided by audio and video service providers they do not own less desirable by limiting downloads from firms such as Netflix or Hulu or providing faster service only for their own content. The rules are designed to maintain a level competitive position on the Internet and to restrict the abilities of companies that dominate access to the Internet from using oligopolistic control of the service points to harm content competitors. The regulations require that services allow their customers equal access to all online content and services, but allow the services some fle...