Comcast, NBC Universal Combination Raises Antitrust Concerns, Kohl Says

Comcast Corp.’s planned acquisition of General Electric Co.’s NBC Universal raises anticompetitive concerns, the chairman of a Senate antitrust panel said.

“This proposed acquisition presents important competition and communications policy concerns, which should be carefully scrutinized by the antitrust division” of the Justice Department as well as the Federal Communications Commission, said Senator Herb Kohl, a Wisconsin Democrat who heads the panel.

Kohl made his comments in a letter today to Christine Varney, head of the antitrust division, and Julius Genachowski, chairman of the FCC.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jeff Bliss in Washington at jbliss@bloomberg.net