Comcast Today: Merger Isn’t Getting Public Support

There’s not been much news on the Comcast-Time Warner merger front lately, but the FCC — which must approve the merger, and will decide the conditions under which it will be approved — is getting thousands of comments from the public.

And if a dip into those comments by Philly Mag is any indication, those comments are almost overwhelmingly negative.

In recent days, many of the comments posted — they’re available for viewing online at the FCC’s website — appear to have been part of an orchestrated campaign by RFD-TV, a rural cable channel whose devoted viewers believe they’d be abandoned in a Comcast-dominated world. (Comcast’s failure to carry RFD was at the center of Rep. Louie Gohmert’s grilling of Comcast VP David Cohen during a congressional hearing this spring.)

Some RFD-related comments:

Virginia’s BH Hubbard:

Mrs. Robin Mitchell:

Indiana’s Mildred Apple:

Nevada’s Bill and Dianne Drake:

It’s not all RFD-lovers weighing in, however:

Maryland’s “Hirsch”:

North Carolina’s Chris Sheils:

California’s Chris Proctor:

New York’s Alex Carlton:

Lest you think we put our thumbs on the scale: We didn’t. There are, so far, nearly 4,000 public comments in the FCC’s Comcast-Time Warner case file, and we didn’t quickly find a pro-merger comment. And we really tried.

In fact, we selected a single day of comments — June 2nd — and read all 35 comments submitted to the FCC on the topic of the Comcast-Time Warner merger. Every single one was opposed — in one case, graphically opposed.

Now: That’s not entirely fair to Comcast: People who write to FCC are self-selecting activists, not run-of-the-mill consumers. But so far, at least, it doesn’t appear that Comcast is generating much grassroots support for its efforts.