AAI Briefing of Public Interest Advocates on Comcast/Time Warner Merger

Name: AAI Briefing of Public Interest Advocates on Comcast/Time Warner Merger
Start: 2014-05-05T00:00:00+00:00
End: 2014-05-05T23:59:59+00:00
Location: National Press Club

May 05, 2014
National Press Club

The American Antitrust Institute and Public Knowledge hosted a briefing for consumer and public interest advocates on Monday, May 5 at the National Press Club in Washington, DC.

The briefing was a follow-on to last year’s briefing on mergers and focused in detail on the Comcast/Time Warner merger, including procedural information, substantive analysis, and strategic discussion, to be presented by a variety of the advocates involved.

Nearly 50 public interest advocates heard from representatives of the AAI, Public Knowledge, Consumer Federation of America, and the Open Technology Institute at New America Foundation.

1:30 pm

WELCOME

Bert Foer, President, American Antitrust Institute

1:35 pm

UNDERSTANDING THE COMCAST-TIME WARNER CABLE MERGER

John Bergmayer, Senior Staff Attorney, Public Knowledge

1:45 pm

WHY THE PROPOSED MERGER IS LIKELY TO HARM COMPETITION AND PRODUCE FEW BENEFITS

Vertical Issues
Steven C. Salop, Professor of Economics and Law, Georgetown Law

Buyer Market Power and Potential Competition
Mark Cooper, Director of Research, Consumer Federation of America

Cost Savings and Consumer Benefits
Diana Moss, Vice President, American Antitrust Institute

2:35 pm

ANTITRUST MERGER REVIEW AT THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Statutory Standards and Merger Guidelines Analysis
Allen Grunes, Partner, GeyerGorey LLP

Merger Remedies
Diana Moss, Vice President, American Antitrust Institute

2:55 pm

REGULATORY MERGER REVIEW AT THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

The Public Interest Standard and Dual Agency Review
Harold Feld, Senior Vice President, Public Knowledge

Integrating Public Interest and Competition Arguments, Inter-agency Cooperation
Harold Feld, Senior Vice President, Public Knowledge

Network Neutrality-Open Internet Issues
Sarah Morris, Senior Policy Counsel, Open Technology Institute at New America Foundation

3:20 pm

ADVOCACY EFFORTS AND NEXT STEPS

Who is Opposing/Supporting the Deal
John Bergmayer, Senior Vice President, Public Knowledge

Panel Discussion:

What Advocacy Efforts are in Play and How Can We Coordinate?
Next Steps with Congress, the Federal Communications Commission, and the U.S. Department of Justice

Overview

Agencies and Congress