Law Professor Reads FCC Conditions on Comcast Merger So You Don't Have To

To summarize the summary:

The FCC was mainly concerned about whether the Hulus and Netflixes of the world would be locked out of NBC content. So, if another major media conglomerate cuts a deal with one of these "online video distributors", NBC is required to do that as well, on comparable terms. They're also required to license to "TV Everywhere"-style services of other cable and satellite networks, again on comparable terms to other content providers. There are arbitration rules for the inevitable disputes over what's "comparable".

They're also required to respect net neutrality wrt video content, and to preserve standalone internet access.

Lastly, there's a really weird-looking condition saying that they should try to preserve local news reporting at NBC-owned local TV stations by finding and partnering with local non-profit reporting cooperatives "within twelve months of closing".

The above is a condensed and (over?)simplified version of what was already a condensed and simplified version of a longer legal document --- but it might at least help you decide whether you've got an interest in reading the whole megillah.

My qualm about all of this. It looks good on paper. But it all comes down to how the rules get enforced. The history of the telecoms suggests that they will agree to stuff up front, then find creative ways to drag their feet later. So we may not get what we've been promised.

Does part of the FCC conditions allow Bittorrent permanently? [0]

Startups could reduce distribution costs a lot this way.

[0] https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Comcast#Netwo...