Comcast gears up

The cable giant will be filing paperwork this week that should provide more detail on how far Comcast is willing to go in order to meet any antitrust concerns about its acquisition of NBC. Already, it promises to keep providing free, over-the-air broadcasts of the NBC and Telemundo. That would seem to be a big deal, given all the concerns about how broadcast advertising is eroding - and how the networks are eyeing cable. But consumer groups and competitors are questioning the promises. From DealBook:

"Comcast is either promising to do what it was already planning to do or simply what it is required to do by law," said Corie Wright, policy counsel at the public interest group Free Press. "I don't think Comcast can just tie a bow around the status quo and call it a public interest commitment."

This is going to be a very complicated, very drawn-out process, if for no other reason than all the players involved: from cable companies and satellite providers, to station owners, to cable channel owners, to consumers groups. Here's the AP story.