FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Cathy Kuo
Chief Marketing Officer
720.479.3518
ckuo@wideopenwest.com
WOW! CEO Colleen Abdoulah Testifies Before House and Senate Subcommittees On Proposed Comcast-NBCU Merger
Englewood, CO – February 5, 2010 – Colleen Abdoulah, President and CEO of WOW! Internet, Cable and Phone, presented testimony on February 4, 2010 before two Congressional committees to express concerns about the proposed merger between Comcast Corporation and NBC Universal.
Abdoulah appeared before the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet as well as the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights. In her written statement, Abdoulah said “WOW! has no problem with robust competition. However, when your competitor also is a major vendor, supplying video content essential or important for any competitive provider to access, problems constantly arise. Over the years, WOW!, like most of us in the cable industry, has wrestled with each of these two firms individually to obtain content, and there is little doubt they have used their market power in these negotiations to extract additional value and obtain an advantage in the distribution market.” Abdoulah shared examples of some of the problems that WOW! and other smaller operators face in accessing content within the current environment, noting how the increased market power of a post-combination Comcast-NBC Universal entity would thus further exacerbate anticompetitive behaviors if unchecked.
As a competitive provider of cable, Internet and phone services, WOW! differentiates itself based on the overall customer experience it provides. Additionally, WOW! has long been committed to providing great bundled value at a fair price. In order to continue to provide consumers with viable choice in communications providers, Abdoulah urged the committees to adopt the necessary measures that would remedy the anticompetitive problems caused by the potential merger.
Abdoulah was invited to be a witness before both committees on behalf of WOW! and the American Cable Association, which represents approximately 900 smaller cable providers across the United States. “I’m honored to have had an opportunity to appear before Congress and advocate for actions that would support a robust competitive environment free of anticompetitive behavior, and that provides consumers with greater choice,” said Abdoulah. The full text of Abdoulah’s testimony may be found at http://americancable.org/node/1825.
About WOW! (www.wowway.com)
WOW! is a competitive provider of cable television, high-speed Internet service, and telephone services. WOW! Cable features Basic Cable, Digital Cable, and advanced services such as Video On Demand, HDTV Cable and DVRs. WOW! Internet provides customers with a choice of high-speed connections from 2Mbps all the way to 15Mbps. WOW! Phone offers the convenience of unlimited local, long distance, and local toll calling in the United States. Customers can bundle any two or all three services together at a great value, while benefiting from the convenience of dealing with just one company for all their entertainment and telecommunications needs.
