Comcast/NBC shuts out Asians! Hun?

The FCC denied a petition yesterday to delay the proposed $30-billion Comcast/NBC-Universal (NBCU) joint venture review made by the pan-Asian group Mabuhay Alliance. The rejected request, filed in mid-March and entitled “Opposition to Comcast Acquisition of NBC Universal: Potential Threat to 15 Million Asian Americans,” sought to appoint a “special master” to gather information from both companies on “five years’ worth of data on programs that reference Asian Americans, Asian Americans employed in top positions by the companies and philanthropic investments in the Asian American community,” reports Multichannel News.

Mabuhay stated

“the application and appendix contain no references to America’s 15 million Asian Americans or any references as to their past treatment or future treatment by Comcast and NBCU.”

“As a condition for allowing this proceeding to continue, we formally request that the FCC order Comcast to revise its 145-page application and set forth specific and unique benefits this acquisition will have for 15 million Asian Americans, including those most ignored, such as Vietnamese Americans, Korean Americans, Filipino Americans, Samoans, Hmong, Thais, Cambodians and Indonesians,”

stated Broadcast & Cable. The San Diego–based group also reportedly requested the formation of a “diversity fund” to promote “minority media” and create a paid, 11-member Asian American Advisory Board.

According to Broadcast & Cable, a Comcast spokesperson said that the company has been in continuing discussions regarding the Comcast-NBCU joint venture with the leadership of multiple national diversity organizations including the Asian American Justice Center.

In a follow-up amendment filed by the alliance on March 22, Mabuhay states that

“it has met with the Department of Justice on this matter … and will be seeking a meeting with FTC Chairman Leibowitz, and has or will shortly be meeting with the chairs of the Congressional Black Caucus (Barbara Lee), Hispanic Caucus (Nydia Velasquez) and the Asian Pacific Caucus (Mike Honda), as well as with other key Congressional leaders whose policies and positions may be affected by this acquisition.”

But the FCC denied the alliance’s requests on Monday.

“We find no reason to depart from the procedure the Commission has established for reviewing the proposed transaction, and we therefore deny the petition,”

stated the FCC brief.

Last month, the commission released its notice calling for public comment on the proposed merger, informally allowing 180 days to complete merger reviews.

“But the deadline is not official and many reviews have far exceeded that under previous chairmen,”

reports Broadcast & Cable.

“The Comcast/NBCU review is widely expected to take close to a year to complete. The Justice Department is holding a separate antitrust review of the deal, which historically would precede the FCC decision, though that is not a hard-and-fast rule, either.”

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts recently confessed to a judiciary panel that his company’s board of directors includes only one woman and one Black person. NBC’s Jeff Zucker—who obtained $9.85 billion in financing needed for the $30-billion joint venture, reports Reuters—admitted to panel members that his network has no Black programming.

Source diversityinc.com

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