{"id":37368,"date":"2011-01-19T01:01:01","date_gmt":"2011-05-19T00:07:43","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2011-05-19T00:07:43","modified_gmt":"2011-05-19T00:07:43","slug":"regime_demands_welfare_as_condition_of_comcast_nbc_merger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/01\/19\/regime_demands_welfare_as_condition_of_comcast_nbc_merger\/","title":{"rendered":"Regime Demands Welfare as Condition of Comcast\/NBC Merger"},"content":{"rendered":"<section>\n<p>RUSH: How many of you have heard that Comcast, the big cable network, was going to end up owning 51% of NBC? The regulators have been working on a deal. It was supposed to be finalized in December but it wasn\u2019t until now. &#8216;Federal regulators approved Comcast Corp.\u2019s takeover of a 51 <img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/01125110.Par.89380.ImageFile.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" class=\"alignright\"\/>percent stake NBC Universal on Tuesday after more than a year of review. They imposed various conditions on the nation\u2019s largest cable TV provider, including those that would protect the burgeoning Internet video marketplace and promote the spread of broadband Internet access. <\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Among the conditions imposed by [federal] regulators, Comcast must&#8230;\u2019 Listen to this now: &#8216;Make available to 2.5 million low income households: high-speed Internet access for less than $10 per month; personal computer, netbooks or other equipment for less than $150; and an array of digital literacy opportunities.\u2019 This is the regime. For 51% of NBC, Comcast has to &#8216;Make available to 2.5 million low income households: high-speed Internet access for less than $10 per month;\u2019 that means everybody else\u2019s prices are gonna skyrocket, &#8216;personal computer, netbooks or other equipment for less than $150.\u2019 Does that mean if you want an iPad or a computer, you can go to Comcast and get one? I didn\u2019t know they sold them. This is welfare. This is digital welfare. &#8216;[A]nd an array of digital literacy opportunities.\u2019 What in the heck is a digital literacy opportunity? They must also &#8216;Maintain or increase local programming at its 10 NBC and 16 Telemundo TV stations,\u2019 and they must &#8216;Increase children\u2019s programming.\u2019 Whoa.<\/p>\n<p><BR\/>BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/line><BR\/> <\/line><BR\/> RUSH: Charles in Kansas City, Missouri, great to have you. You\u2019re next on the Rush Limbaugh program. Hi.<\/line><BR\/> <\/line><BR\/> CALLER: Yes, hi. Mega dittos, Rush.<\/line><BR\/> <\/line><BR\/> RUSH: Thank you.<\/line><BR\/> <\/line><BR\/> CALLER: Great to talk to you.<\/line><BR\/> <\/line><BR\/> RUSH: Thank you very much, sir.<\/line><BR\/> <\/line><BR\/> CALLER: I want to go back to much earlier in the show you were talking about the Comcast, taking over 51% of NBC, I believe it was. I believe you might have missed a valid &#8212; or very important &#8212; point, and that was not only do they have to follow these federal regulations, but they also have to, well&#8230;pay for it. They have to buy 51% of this company. And it\u2019s kind of like me going out and buying a house and the previous owner telling me, &#8216;Well, by the way, you can\u2019t change any of the colors, and there is a bunch of mice living in the house, and you gotta put out cheese for \u2019em every day out of your own pocket.\u2019<\/line><\/p>\n<p>RUSH: Wait a minute, now. Where are you getting that? From what I reported&#8230; No, I don\u2019t &#8216;report.\u2019 From what I told you, where are you getting that Comcast can\u2019t change NBC?<\/p>\n<p>CALLER: Well, I\u2019m not saying that they can\u2019t. My point is they have to follow what the federal regulations are. But not only just follow that, they still also have to&#8230; They\u2019re buying the 51%. It\u2019s theirs, but yet there\u2019s all these regulations put on them by someone else when it\u2019s theirs. Just another show of how they want to tell us how we should live and how we should run our lives.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/01125110.Par.4584.ImageFile.jpg\" width=\"415\" height=\"318\" class=\"alignright\"\/>RUSH: Yeah, well here\u2019s the story: &#8216;Comcast has been permitted to buy 51% of NBC from General Electric.\u2019 General Electric is getting rid of 51% of NBC Universal. That\u2019s controlling interest. The regulators said: If we let you do this, you are going to have to make available to 2-1\/2 million low-income households high-speed Internet access for less than $10 a month, only to the poor. Also to the poor, you\u2019re going to have to make available personal computers, netbooks, iPads, and other equipment for less than $150; and then &#8216;an array of digital literacy opportunities.\u2019 Then you must &#8216;maintain or increase local programming at the ten NBC and 16 Telemundo TV stations,\u2019 and you must &#8216;increase children\u2019s programming, including adding 1500 more on-demand titles\u2019 through your movie repertoire. <\/p>\n<p>So they are dabbling a little bit there into content. But it doesn\u2019t say that they can\u2019t do anything to NBC News. It doesn\u2019t say, for example&#8230; Let me just stir it up a little bit, here. It doesn\u2019t say that they can\u2019t touch MSNBC. It doesn\u2019t say that at all. I mean, they have to give away Internet service to the poor and computers and netbooks and all that stuff. (interruption) Well, no, they could. They could shut down MSNBC. They could change the programming. They could. They could turn it into Shopping Channel 14. Who knows? They could do anything they want with it. They could certainly. They\u2019re not prohibited from trying to get an audience. <\/p>\n<p>NBC has decreed that MSNBC will not have an audience, by virtue of its programming. Comcast has not been saddled with that corporate decision. If Comcast wants to get an audience on MSNBC, they\u2019re free to try. That would require significant content change. It has been well established that they\u2019ve topped out audience-wise at MSNBC, doing what they\u2019re doing. I don\u2019t know how they implement the giveaway to the poor. I, frankly, don\u2019t know that they do. I just know that it says here they have to and the fact that somebody says you have to and they say, &#8216;Okay, we will,\u2019 that could satisfy everybody (chuckles) since we live in a perception-versus-reality world. <\/p>\n<p>So Comcast says, &#8216;Okay, we\u2019ll do it. We\u2019ll hand stuff out. We\u2019ll make sure we give away high-speed Internet access for less than $10 a month to low-income people and we\u2019re gonna define &#8216;low-income\u2019 people as a $100,000 or whatever.\u2019 I don\u2019t know that we\u2019ll ever know how they\u2019re doing this unless they run a PR campaign &#8212; You know, a parade of people living in boxcars. (interruption) Well, now, Snerdley, we don\u2019t know. We don\u2019t know. (interruption) No, we don\u2019t yet. Snerdley is saying, &#8216;Watch what political districts these giveaways end up in.\u2019 We don\u2019t know that yet. We don\u2019t know that that\u2019s been mandated. We don\u2019t know. <\/p>\n<p>The story that we have here does not say that the high-speed Internet at low cost or the personal computers or netbooks, other equipment, can only go to low income Democrat districts. It doesn\u2019t say that. Now, Comcast might do that just to keep the regulators off their back down the line. It doesn\u2019t say they have to. You might have a whole different attitude about this. You might be wrong about the corporate thinking at Comcast. (sigh) Yes, it\u2019s a giveaway and it\u2019s welfare, but this is a cost of doing business, as far as Comcast is concerned. Let\u2019s just keep a sharp eye&#8230; (interruption) Of course it\u2019s extortion, but let\u2019s just keep a sharp&#8230; (interruption)<\/p>\n<p>I know it\u2019s Democrats. It\u2019s regime regulators demanding all this. And so it\u2019s probably been stated but not written. By the way, these netbooks are already gonna be programmed. The startup screen will be the Obama logo (laughing) and it\u2019s true, Comcast\u2019s political donations are almost all to Democrats and Democrat causes, but I don\u2019t know for how many years. I don\u2019t know how much of that was part of the deal to get this thing approved. We\u2019ll have to wait and see. Let\u2019s wait and see what they do with MSNBC. That\u2019s just one thing: Just wait and see what they do with that. Let me tell you this: My history, experience in broadcasting &#8212; years of experience guided by an above average intelligence &#8212; tell me if I work there, I\u2019d be a little nervous. <\/p>\n<p>I have a new owner coming in that just spent beaucoup bucks, and I work at a losing division. I work at a loss leader division, and I know that that network exists because the GE CEO had to pay a price to get all the goodies coming back from Washington to GE. Now, if I\u2019m Comcast, do I want to keep that gravy train going? Am I in a business where I want goodies from Washington that keep redounding to my benefit at Comcast? Okay, I\u2019ll keep MSNBC as it is. I\u2019ll look the other way and hold my nose. I\u2019ll write it off, I\u2019ll use it as a loss leader.\u2019 <\/p>\n<p>Or I\u2019ll look at it: &#8216;Is there something that can be done with this wreck to make it respectable because we at Comcast are respectable? We want to be respectable, and that doesn\u2019t count.\u2019 Look, I don\u2019t know anything. I\u2019m just using my instincts here. (interruption) What would I do if they had me in to fix the place? Oh, I haven\u2019t got time here, Snerdley. Why should I give that away? Why should I sit here on this program and tell what I would do, announce to the world what I would do to fix MSNBC and not get anything for it? There\u2019s no way I\u2019m doing that! I know exactly how to fix MSNBC. There\u2019s no way that I\u2019m gonna say that on this program. I\u2019m through doing stuff I don\u2019t get paid for. Those days are long gone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>RUSH: How many of you have heard that Comcast, the big cable network, was going to end up owning 51% of NBC? The regulators have been working on a deal. It was supposed to be finalized in December but it wasn\u2019t until now. &#8216;Federal regulators approved Comcast Corp.\u2019s takeover of a 51 percent stake NBC [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v17.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Regime Demands Welfare as Condition of Comcast\/NBC Merger - The Rush Limbaugh Show<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/01\/19\/regime_demands_welfare_as_condition_of_comcast_nbc_merger\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Regime Demands Welfare as Condition of Comcast\/NBC Merger - The Rush Limbaugh Show\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"RUSH: How many of you have heard that Comcast, the big cable network, was going to end up owning 51% of NBC? The regulators have been working on a deal. It was supposed to be finalized in December but it wasn\u2019t until now. &#8216;Federal regulators approved Comcast Corp.\u2019s takeover of a 51 percent stake NBC [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/01125110.Par.89380.ImageFile.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/\",\"name\":\"The Rush Limbaugh Show\",\"description\":\"Excellence In Broadcasting\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/01\/19\/regime_demands_welfare_as_condition_of_comcast_nbc_merger\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/01125110.Par.89380.ImageFile.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/01125110.Par.89380.ImageFile.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/01\/19\/regime_demands_welfare_as_condition_of_comcast_nbc_merger\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/01\/19\/regime_demands_welfare_as_condition_of_comcast_nbc_merger\/\",\"name\":\"Regime Demands Welfare as Condition of Comcast\/NBC Merger - The Rush Limbaugh Show\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/01\/19\/regime_demands_welfare_as_condition_of_comcast_nbc_merger\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-05-19T00:07:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-05-19T00:07:43+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#\/schema\/person\/911066e449df26406b107ca78cbbde0b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/01\/19\/regime_demands_welfare_as_condition_of_comcast_nbc_merger\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/01\/19\/regime_demands_welfare_as_condition_of_comcast_nbc_merger\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/01\/19\/regime_demands_welfare_as_condition_of_comcast_nbc_merger\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Regime Demands Welfare as Condition of Comcast\/NBC Merger\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#\/schema\/person\/911066e449df26406b107ca78cbbde0b\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f18195e0073013fa0e16b040686c2924?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f18195e0073013fa0e16b040686c2924?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Regime Demands Welfare as Condition of Comcast\/NBC Merger - The Rush Limbaugh Show","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2011\/01\/19\/regime_demands_welfare_as_condition_of_comcast_nbc_merger\/","twitter_card":"summary","twitter_title":"Regime Demands Welfare as Condition of Comcast\/NBC Merger - The Rush Limbaugh Show","twitter_description":"RUSH: How many of you have heard that Comcast, the big cable network, was going to end up owning 51% of NBC? 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