43,000 public comments on Comcast-TWC merger [Comcast Roundup]

Proposed Comcast-TWC deal draws 43,000 public comments [Philadelphia Inquirer]: “Thousands of those comments involve apparent fears by TV viewers that Comcast will take RFD-TV, a rural-focused TV network, off cable. The network has asked its viewers to protest. Other comments opposing the acquisition, in sometimes tart language, delve into high bills and poor customer service by Comcast and Time Warner Cable.”

Mohu Helping Fed Up Comcast, Dish Customers Cut The Cord [Forbes]: “By combining a Mohu antenna with a streaming box and replacing a Comcast subscription with ones from Netflix and Hulu, a consumer can very quickly pay much less for the same programming that Comcast supplies.”

Dodgers TV Row Fuels Unease Over Comcast-Time Warner Deal [Bloomberg]: “With federal regulators now taking an interest in why 70 percent of local pay-TV customers have been without access to Dodgers games for months, the standoff could trip up Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) as it tries to complete its acquisition of Time Warner Cable. Concern that the combined company’s heft would be wielded in a way that hurts competitors could lead regulators to block or impose conditions on the $42.5 billion merger.”

Employee metrics show how Comcast pushes customer service reps to make sales [The Verge]: “…employees told us in no uncertain terms that they felt like the failure to make sales would get them fired. In some cases, employees told us they knew coworkers who had been let go for failure to make sales, or had been let go themselves.”

Citing “Insulting” Criticism, Comcast And Time Warner Cable Withdraw Funding For Dinner Honoring FCC Commissioner [Deadline]: “The decisions come after Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington took issue with Comcast and Time Warner Cable’s contributions to the upcoming Walter Kaitz Foundation dinner — an annual fund-raiser for the industry’s efforts to promote diversity. The problem? This year’s soiree will honor FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, one of the federal regulators the cable giants are lobbying to support Comcast’s planned acquisition of TWC.”

Comcast tries to compromise on Internet outreach [Philadelphia Inquirer]