Cry For Me Argentina Argentina’s Congress has approved a bill that will give the government more control over the broadcast media. President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner sponsored the controversial bill to replace a dictatorship-era law that allowed media power to be concentrated in the hands of a few companies. The new regulations are aimed at diversifying the public airwaves. Despite consensus that the old law was in need of reform, media analysts are saying the move by the Kirchner government is designed to give the executive branch significant control of the airwaves. One article of the new law gives the president authority to appoint the majority of a new broadcast regulatory body. That group will be in charge of giving new licenses. Many fear that this will restrict freedom of expression, as Kirchner allies gain an advantage in bidding when media conglomerates are forced to give up their licenses. Gustavo Vittori, president of the Association of Argentine Journalistic Entities, told The New York Times that many media outlets “are in favor of opening the industry to more voices.” But, he said, “what we are questioning is the engineering of the reform. It is interventionist.” In September, tax agents raided the offices of a major media power, Grupo Clarin, after Clarin’s newspaper ran a story accusing a government agency of improperly granting a farm subsidy. The design of the bill restricts any private company from having a national radio or television network, yet allows the government to have them, and will control important popular programming thanks to the state’s recent takeover of television rights for professional football. GE To Exit Showbiz U.S. cable operator Comcast and conglomerate GE are closing in on an agreement in regard to GE’s NBC Universal, with both companies agreeing to a timetable for GE’s eventual exit from the entertainment business. It has been reported that Comcast has agreed to give GE the right to redeem portions of its interest in NBC Universal at the three-and-a-half and seven-year marks. This would lead to GE seceding from the operation entirely, giving full control to Comcast. NBC Universal would become a separate entity that would then be merged with Comcast’s cable networks. Comcast would contribute about $6 billion in cash to the new venture and own a 51 percent stake, with GE owning the other 49 percent. Furthermore, as part of the deal, GE would purchase France-based Vivendi’s 20 percent interest in NBC Universal and put the debt on the books of the new company. The company would then have a $9 billion debt to start with and an estimated initial value of $30 billion. The money that would be paid down the line to redeem GE’s share of NBC Universal would come from cash flow from the new endeavor. If the new company can’t fund the purchase of GE’s redemption rights, Comcast has agreed to spend a total of up to $6 billion more to finance the move. News Corp and Liberty Media also expressed interest in purchasing NBC Universal, but, reportedly, their bids were not serious threats to the deal. Speculators Are Put on Notice Democratic U.S. senator from Washington State, Maria Cantwell, is calling for nominees to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to support “strong position limits” that would impose strict caps on the number of energy futures held by investors because of concerns that they are inflating prices. Last year, senator Cantwell blocked three CTFC nominees, including the acting chairman at the time. The five CFTC commissioners must approve any new rule by a majority, and recently, two of the current commissioners expressed reservations about the proposed restrictions. They worry that restrictions could drive futures trading from the U.S. into unregulated “over-the-counter” markets. Traders have warned that a DE C E M B E R 2 0 0 9 (Continued on Page 8) V I D E O • A G E 6
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