Oppose the Charter-Time Warner merger

From CREDO:

The FCC is reportedly on the verge of approving the proposed $90 billion mega-merger between Charter Communications and Time Warner Cable,1 which would create a cable and Internet behemoth nearly as big as Comcast. Combined, the new company and Comcast would control two-thirds of the nation’s high speed Internet access.2

The next few days are a critical time to pressure the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to stop this bad deal for American consumers.

Can you help with a quick phone call? We’ll give you everything you need to deliver the message, and automatically connect you to the FCC commissioners who need to hear the voice of the American people.

Make a call to the FCC: Reject the Charter-Time Warner Cable merger. Call for a script and to be automatically connected to key FCC commissioners.

The proposed merger is a bad deal for consumers on a number of fronts:

It was designed to benefit the companies’ executives and Wall Street investors – not consumers. Big cable and Internet companies should be focused on improving customer service, and increasing broadband Internet speeds, not looking toward the next mega-merger that will make Wall Street happy.

If the merger is approved, Charter would take over the New York and Los Angeles broadband Internet markets, and would likely impose price increases on its customers in these diverse communities. This would exacerbate the digital divide by concentrating market power in communities where many people already struggle to afford broadband.

In a recent customer service survey, Charter ranked below hundreds of other companies – even Comcast.3 With even less competition and a captive customer base after a merger, Charter will have little incentive to actually improve customer service.
We need faster, more affordable Internet access – not further consolidation that would put more and more power into fewer hands. I hope you’ll join the broad coalition of progressive groups and activists fighting to stop the proposed merger between Charter Communications and Time Warner Cable by calling the FCC today.

Make a call to the FCC: Reject the Charter-Time Warner Cable merger. Call for a script and to be automatically connected to key FCC commissioners.

Thanks for everything you do.

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Now a word from Comcast

From Fight For The Future:

We’ve all come to expect the worst from Comcast and their ilk, but this is just over the top.

Last week, media reports exposed the fact that thousands “anti-net neutrality” emails sent to lawmakers came from a shadowy Koch-funded group that’s now being accused of “identity theft” for sending emails from people who had never signed up to oppose net neutrality. 1

If you think that’s bad, just wait. This morning, the New York times revealed that Comcast has been calling in favors from the many politicians, think tanks, and organizations that they “generously” donate to. Basically they’re bribing politicians and groups to send letters to Congress and the FCC in favor of Comcast’s takeover of Time Warner Cable. 2 It even looks like they straight up wrote Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel’s letter for him. 3

Money talks, and we know that Congress and the FCC will be hearing from all of Comcast’s well-paid friends. The only way to fight this is to make sure that the decision makers hear from hundreds of thousands of REAL people like you right now.

The deadline is approaching!

The Comcast / Time Warner merger is one of the worst possible things that could happen to the open Internet. It would combine the two largest, most hated cable companies into a single, massive monopoly with control over more than half the country's Internet users.

With Team Cable using shady tactic after shady tactic, we can’t let up for a second, and we definitely can’t let a company like Comcast get even bigger.

More than 700,000 people have already taken action to demand that Congress and the FCC block the merger -- but there’s a vote coming up and in light of Comcast literally buying support, we need all the signatures we can get. Plus, with all the press around the fake efforts of Comcast and their cronies, we know that breaking 1,000,000 real comments will make a splash in the media, which matters as the vote approaches.

Thanks for all you do to keep the Internet open,

Charlie

P.S. If you’re wondering about who in Congress has been going to bat for Comcast, check out Customer Service help -- we built it to highlight a few of Comcast’s most ardent supporters in Congress who also happen to get huge donations from Comcast every year. We released it last week, and it’s already started going viral.

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Comcast + Time Warner Cable = Disaster for the rest of us

From Free Press Action Fund:

Comcast just announced that it’s buying Time Warner Cable. If approved, this outrageous deal would create a television and Internet colossus like no other. The fight to stop this merger begins today.

Comcast is the country's #1 cable and Internet company and Time Warner Cable is #2. Put them together and you get a single giant controlling a massive share of our nation’s TV and Internet-access markets.

Fight to Stop the Comcast/Time Warner Cable Merger.

No one woke up this morning wishing their cable company was bigger or had more control over what they watch and how they get online. But that's the reality we’ll face unless the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission do their jobs and block this merger.

Stopping this kind of deal is exactly why we have antitrust laws. After a year of sustained organizing, we convinced the DoJ and the FCC to stop AT&T from gobbling up T-Mobile. With your help we can stop this deal too.

Take Action: Say No to Comcast/Time Warner Cable

This merger would put more than a third of all cable-TV subscribers in Comcast’s hands and give it control over more than half of the “triple-play” services that combine TV, phone and Internet service. Don’t forget, Comcast already owns NBC, MSNBC, Universal Studios and tons of cable networks. That means that for most of America, Comcast could control even more of what you see and how you see it.

Putting this much power in the hands of one company is dangerous. This deal would lead to less consumer choice, less diversity and much higher cable bills.

Send a message to the DoJ and the FCC today. This is a fight we can win. Take action and we’ll be back in touch soon with next steps.

Thanks for all that you do—

Craig, Josh, Amy and the rest of the Free Press team
freepress.net

P.S. Comcast is spending $44 billion to buy Time Warner Cable. Could you donate $44 today and fund the fight to stop this merger? We don't take money from business, government or political parties and rely on the generosity of people like you to fuel our work. Please donate $44 (or whatever amount you can give) today. Thank you!