Alarming Charts Show Just How Much Power Comcast Will Have Over Cable Industry If Time Warner Deal Stands

Worries continue to swirl around Comcast’s recent $45 billion buyout of Time Warner Cable, a deal that combines the two biggest U.S. cable providers.

The concerns are not unjustified. If the merger is approved, Comcast would control more than half of American cable subscribers. Critics argue that the mega-merger represents a “quasi-monopoly” and customers will ultimately pay for it as lack of competition could lead to higher prices.

Using data from the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, these graphs provide and illustration of how the cable industry will change if the merger is successful:

(Imgur/Reddit)

(Imgur/Reddit)

This domination of the market is problematic for a number of other reasons too, including the potential for a lack of diversity of voices. TheBlaze network's CEO Chris Balfe was quoted in Variety as saying:

Major MVPDs do not have a good history of supporting independent programmers whose content is in demand like TheBlaze and we are skeptical that giving Comcast even more market power will benefit consumers, promote competition or lead to more diversity of voices or consumer choice on their channel line ups.”

Balfe isn’t alone either. The left-leaning news website the Huffington Post has been blasting the deal as a "disaster" for American customers since the news first broke earlier this week.