The Federal Communications Commission is temporarily suspending its review of Comcast's $30 billion merger with NBC Universal, saying neither company fully responded to the commission’s questions.
FCC Media Bureau Chief William Lake notified both Comcast and NBCU Thursday in letters.
The request involved a technical issue, and a revised response will be sent to the FCC shortly, according to a Comcast spokesperson.
Monday was the deadline for proponents and backers of the deal to file initial comments with the FCC, and Lake said despite the FCC’s questions, the timetable for response comments to be filed will continue as before.
At the request of the FCC’s Media Bureau, Comcast and NBCU in May presented two economic studies to buttress their case in support of the deal. One offered “An Economic Analysis of Competitive Benefits From the Comcast-NBCU Transaction” and the other dealt with the impact of the transaction on internet video.
The FCC asked several questions about the reports that Lake said in the letters weren’t fully answered.
Thursday he directed both companies to answer them and said that until the answers are filed, the FCC is on hold in reviewing the deal.
