Minority State Legislators Back Comcast/NBCU

Black and Hispanic state legislators have weighed in at the FCC in support of the Comcast/NBCU merger.

The National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) touted Comcast's record on diversity in a letter Wednesday to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and called a possible meld with NBC Universal a "positive development" for the African American community.

The deal also got a shout-out from the National Conference Of Hispanic Legislators (NCHL).

NBCSL cited Comcast's help in launching African American-targeted cable net TV One, its support of BET, and its work with the Urban League in concluding that the combined company would "promote the important value of diversity."

NCHL National Chairman David Casas of Georgia, in his letter to the chairman, said that the group "strongly believe[s] that the proposed combination will only enhance Comcast's ability to positively impact the lives of millions of Hispanic Americans." Casas said Comcast has been a strong business and community partner to the Hispanic community.

The FCC was slated Thursday to re-start its informal 180-day shot clock for vetting the merger.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.