FCC to Vote Thursday on Adelphia Acquisition

Telecom News Editorials Reports Glossary

6:30 am on July 10, 2006 | Category: Business, Telecom Services, Regulation

The Federal Communications Commission plans to hold a vote this week on whether approve the $17.6 billion purchase of Adelphia Communications Corp. by cable giants, Comcast and Time Warner.

The final decision will be made on July 13, according to an emailed statement from the commission. Although the acquisition of Adelphia will almost certainly be approved (there aren’t many other options for the bankrupt cable company), some analysts believe that the FCC will impose certain restrictions and conditions of sale on the buyers. The licensing of local sports programming would be a likely target of such conditions.

“We are pleased to appear on the agenda and look forward to receiving a timely decision that allows us to close this deal by July 31,” said Adelphia spokesman, Paul Jacobson. A clause in the purchase agreement would have allowed one or both buyers to walk away from the deal if it wasn’t completed by July 31, but if all goes according to plan with the upcoming vote, Adelphia will be spared from this risk.

Once the purchase is completed, and Adelphia is absorbed, Comcast will gain a stronger position in Pennsylvania and Florida, while Time Warner will become the top cable operator in both New York and Los Angeles.