By Sam Thielman
Not long ago, it would have been unthinkable for a coalition of discontented citizens to challenge the business decisions of multinational company with a market cap of nearly $150bn and a boss who plays golf with the president. Last week it happened, and the grassroots guys won. Again.
Last February, when Comcast announced it was buying Time Warner Cable, federal approval of the merger didn't seem like a major hurdle. The two biggest cable companies said their merger wouldn’t reduce competition—and wouldn’t result in higher rates—because geographically, they served different markets.
