The news media bargaining code could backfire if small media outlets aren't protected: an economist explains
When I was the chief economist at the US Federal Communications Commission, we oversaw was the acquisition of DirecTV, the satellite pay-TV platform, by News Corp in 2003. Prior to the merger, DirecTV did not own significant content, and content-rich News Corp did not own a pay-TV distribution platform. Economic analysis showed the merged entity would have the incentive to raise the price of certain TV channels, such as the Fox broadcast network and Fox sports channels, that were sold to rival pay-TV distribution platforms and cable companies such as Comcast. To counteract this anti-competit...