November 17th, 2009
Comcast Gets Involved In Live Nation/Ticketmaster Merger
As Brian McManus explained in his summer PW cover story about the Live Nation/Ticketmaster merger that’s in the works, we’re all basically screwed — in terms of rising ticket prices and fees — if it goes through. And now it looks like Philly’s own Comcast is getting in on the screwing. According to a piece today from Bloomberg, the cable company is getting involved with making the merger a reality, even though there’s some serious anti-trust issues that could prevent the whole thing from happening. So why is Comcast getting involved? According to Bloomberg:
The company may receive spinoffs of ticketing software and client contracts as part of a proposal to alleviate Justice Department concerns that the Ticketmaster-Live Nation deal would inhibit competition, said the people, who declined to be identified because the deliberations are private. Comcast has met with Justice Department officials to discuss the proposal, the people said. Antitrust regulators must determine whether it’s enough to let the Ticketmaster-Live Nation deal go through, one of the people said…
Comcast controls the 76ers, the Philadelphia Flyers hockey team and Wachovia Center in the city. The move to expand its ticketing operations is another example of Comcast trying to grow beyond its core cable television business. The largest U.S. cable provider also is in talks with General Electric Co. to create a company that would include GE’s New York-based NBC Universal, people familiar with the matter have said.
Consumer advocacy groups have asked regulators to block a Comcast-NBC deal because the transaction would leave Comcast with too much power over content viewers see.
And, of course, nobody is talking:
A Justice Department spokeswoman, Gina Talamona, declined to comment. A spokesman for Ticketmaster and Live Nation declined to comment. John Demming, a spokesman for Comcast, had no immediate comment.
In the event we can get anyone to go on the record discussing the deal, we’ll bring that to you … and we’ll certainly keep you posted as the screwing unfolds.
