Sen. Franken Urges Netflix to Join His Quest to Scupper Comcast-TWC Merger

Senator Al Franken on Wednesday called on Netflix CEO Reed Hasting to take a public stance on the proposed merger between Comcast and Time Warner Cable.

“My concern is that Comcast will be able to use its clout in the broadband distribution market to obtain an anticompetitive advantage in the content market,” wrote Franken in a letter. “Comcast can achieve this by blocking, degrading, raising costs for or otherwise interfering with unaffiliated content that relies on Comcast’s distribution network to reach consumers.”

Franken is an unabashed critic of the proposed deal, and his missive to the Netflix camp may lure the online streaming company into locking horns with Comcast once again.

Earlier this year, Netflix protested Comcast’s additional fees, ostensibly to help safeguard high-quality streaming for its own customers.