Comcast-Universal Merger
Integrating Values - The Legality, Morality, and Social Responsibility of Comcast-NBC Universal Merger
NOVA Southeastern University
H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship
Abstract
For the over past decade cable television industry has experienced restructuring through a large number of creative innovation, mergers and acquisitions. For the purpose of understanding both legal and ethical issues in regards to such a merger in the US cable television industry, this study employs a very detailed legal and ethical examination of a merger between Comcast and Universal. This merger, proposed on December 3rd 2009 would create the world’s largest media conglomerate with the largest cable distribution would include some of the world’s most popular entertainment, news and sports content, movies and film libraries system market in the US. This sparked fear of reducing competition through market foreclosure and thus harm consumers. However, the merger may also create efficiency gains which benefit consumers. There are a lot of legal and ethical ramifications of such a large merger. We applied analyses of Legal, Ethical and Social Responsibility issues surrounding such a merger. The analyses concluded that: first, obviously this merger has already been approved by the FCC already. FCC approving the merger kind of quelled legal issues that many assume will come with such a merger.
Keywords: Merger, Comcast, legal, ethics, FCC, NBC Universal.
Table of Contents
I. Introduction 4
II. Comcast-NBC Merger - Legal aspects of its mergers 7
III. Comcast-NBC Merger - Ethics Models 13
A. Utilitarian Ethical Analysis 15
B. Kantian Ethical Analysis 23
C. Natural Law Analysis 27
IV. Social Responsibility 31
V. Conclusion 36
Integrating Values - The Legality, Morality, and Social Responsibility of Comcast-NBC Universal Merger
I. Introduction On January 18th, the FCC approved a merger between two
NOVA Southeastern University
H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship
Abstract
For the over past decade cable television industry has experienced restructuring through a large number of creative innovation, mergers and acquisitions. For the purpose of understanding both legal and ethical issues in regards to such a merger in the US cable television industry, this study employs a very detailed legal and ethical examination of a merger between Comcast and Universal. This merger, proposed on December 3rd 2009 would create the world’s largest media conglomerate with the largest cable distribution would include some of the world’s most popular entertainment, news and sports content, movies and film libraries system market in the US. This sparked fear of reducing competition through market foreclosure and thus harm consumers. However, the merger may also create efficiency gains which benefit consumers. There are a lot of legal and ethical ramifications of such a large merger. We applied analyses of Legal, Ethical and Social Responsibility issues surrounding such a merger. The analyses concluded that: first, obviously this merger has already been approved by the FCC already. FCC approving the merger kind of quelled legal issues that many assume will come with such a merger.
Keywords: Merger, Comcast, legal, ethics, FCC, NBC Universal.
Table of Contents
I. Introduction 4
II. Comcast-NBC Merger - Legal aspects of its mergers 7
III. Comcast-NBC Merger - Ethics Models 13
A. Utilitarian Ethical Analysis 15
B. Kantian Ethical Analysis 23
C. Natural Law Analysis 27
IV. Social Responsibility 31
V. Conclusion 36
Integrating Values - The Legality, Morality, and Social Responsibility of Comcast-NBC Universal Merger
I. Introduction On January 18th, the FCC approved a merger between two
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