Get ready to be knocked out of your seats, readers — consumers think a Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger is a bad idea. Comcast and Time Warner Cable confirmed earlier this month that they have reached a merger agreement that could see Comcast acquire Time Warner Cable for about $45 billion. The pay TV giants might have a few pals in high places in Washington, but they still face an uphill battle as regulators scrutinize the proposed deal. Beyond regulators, what do consumers think? Not surprisingly, a new study suggests that they don’t like the idea one bit.
Market research and polling company CivicScience on Monday tweeted preliminary results of a poll question that asked simply, “Do you believe the Comcast buyout of Time Warner Cable is,” followed by four options.
498 respondents (53%) said they believe the deal is “bad for consumers,” while 334 people (35%) were unsure of how the merger might impact consumers. A total of 57 respondents (6%) — perhaps all Comcast executives, a few lobbyists and a regulator or two — said that they thought the TWC buyout was a good idea and would benefit consumers. 53 people (6%) were neutral on the deal.
