Cable Group Urges Antitrust Probe of Comcast and Trump Tweets Support | Top News

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump tweeted his support on Monday for a call to a cable industry group to be checked against anti-competitive practices by Comcast Corp, the world's biggest entertainment company.

The American Cable Association (ACA), which represents hundreds of smaller cable and broadband providers, on Monday, February 1, 2011 of cable systems, TV stations, and regional sports networks concentrated in some of the largest local markets in the country. "

Trump made the call to the industry 's call for a probe, which it said to the Department of Justice in a Nov. 6 letter.

"American Cable Association has big problems with Comcast." They say that Comcast routinely violates Antitrust Laws, "Trump said on Twitter.

Comcast's shares dieted following the president's tweet but quickly recovered most of their losses in a market that was broadly lower. Comcast shares were down 0.2 percent in late trading.

It is not the first time that Trump has weighed in on regulatory issues related to media companies.

In July, he said the Federal Communications Commission's decision to dismiss Sinclair's Broadcast Group's purchase of Tribune Media was "disgraceful." Two years ago, when Trump was the Republican presidential candidate, he had denounced AT & T's deal to buy Time Warner Inc., whose businesses included CNN, which Trump has repeatedly attacked.

The ACA said in its call for a test that it is necessary to be in charge of the acquisition of NBC Universal, its "ability to raise the prices of local markets is unmatched by any other problem created by the AT & T-TW combination. "

The ACA said it was very much concerned about its members' access to regional sports networks.

"ACA expects – and there is every reason for DOJ (Justice Department) to expect – Comcast-NBCU to act on its natural incentives and use its capabilities to harm rivals, unless the government somehow, or through structural or behavioral remedies, deals with them, "the group said in its letter.

Comcast did not respond to the president's tweet, but said that the ACA was "without merit and be able to gain leverage in the commercial marketplace."

"At Comcast NBCUniversal, we are competing in this dynamic environment by continuing to innovate and conduct our business in compliance with antitrust laws and other legal requirements," the company said in a statement.

(Reporting by Diane Bartz, Reporting by David Shepardson, Editing by Leslie Adler)

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