AT&T Comcast and You

Posted by on June 21, 2002

What Every Cable Subscriber, Internet User and Citizen Should Know About the Biggest Cable Merger in History
A talk sponsored by Media Tank featuring Jeff Chester, Executive Director of the Center for Digital Democracy

WEDNESDAY JUNE 26 * 7:00 PM
The Friends Center * 15th & Cherry Streets
Free and open to the public
Followed by Q&A discussion

Comcast Corporation, one of Philadelphia’s major corporate players, will soon be the biggest cable company in the world if its proposed merger with AT&T Broadband is approved. Comcast shareholders will vote on the merger in Philadelphia on July 10th. How will this giant merger impact the Internet, cable TV and the general media landscape? It raises other serious questions such as:
* How will it affect cable rates when Comcast’s “hometown” already pays the highest rates in the country?
* What influence will this new company have in shaping new Internet technologies and content distribution?
* What does this level of media concentration mean for the free flow of information in a democratic society?
* What is Comcast’s track record on meeting public interest mandates?

JEFF CHESTER is an expert in media policy and executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy in Washington, DC. http://www.democraticmedia.org

MEDIA TANK is a Philly nonprofit working to bring together media arts, education and activism to build a movement for media democracy. For more information: (215) 563-1100 or http://www.mediatank.org