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                                                 June 5, 2000
  
  
    CONCURRING STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER GLORIA TRISTANI
                              
In the Matter of Applications for Consent to the Transfer of Control
Of Licenses and Section 214 Authorizations from MediaOne Group, Inc. to AT&T Corp.
                              
  
       As with its approval of the CBS-Viacom merger, the Commission has once again
  failed to consider seriously the significant impact that an AT&T-MediaOne combination
  could have on the diversity of media voices.  By focusing primarily on technical
  compliance with our rules, the Commission has not sufficiently analyzed whether the
  proposed transaction will undercut a fundamental purpose of the Communications Act --
  maintaining independent sources of news and information.
   
            The importance of television to the democratic process cannot be overstated.  A
  majority of Americans still rely on television as their primary source of electoral
  information.  How information is presented   or not presented   has the power to shape
  public opinion and debate.  Under today's decision, AT&T could come into compliance
  with the horizontal ownership rules by divesting its interest in small cable systems that lack
  significant programming assets rather than divesting its interest in Time Warner
  Entertainment (TWE) and/or Liberty Media.  If AT&T chooses that course, it will own, or
  have an attributable interest in, 22 of 59 (37%) of the basic cable services that have
  reached the requisite number of subscribers   15 million   to achieve viability.  AT&T
  will also own, or have an attributable interest in, 3 of the top 4 premium channels (HBO,
  Cinemax and Starz!).  
  
       This level of concentration should not be looked at in a vacuum.  Rather, it must
  be examined in the context of the number of independent voices to which consumers have
  access on television.  The major television broadcast networks   ABC/Disney,
  CBS/Viacom, News Corp./Fox and NBC   own 18 of the 59 basic cable networks that
  have reached the 15 million-subscriber mark, and 1 of the top 4 premium services
  (Showtime).  Thus, when combined with a merged AT&T-MediaOne, five companies will
  control 40 of 59 (68%) of the currently viable cable networks, the top four premium cable
  channels, as well as all of the major broadcast networks.  Adding Time Warner's non-
  TWE programming to the mix means that six companies will control at least 47 of 59
  (80%) of today's viable cable programming services.  
  
  Thus, as a result of this merger, five or six large companies may end up controlling
  the vast majority of what American see and hear on television.  True, our horizontal rules
  are designed to ensure that theoretically a new programmer would not need carriage on
  the largest cable systems in order to survive, but we cannot ignore the reality of what
  Americans are actually watching.  This is not simply an academic exercise, but a matter of
  critical importance to our democracy.  As the New York Times recently stated:
  
       The rules that govern concentration in telecommunications are unlike antitrust
       laws.  In the bottled water and sneaker markets, mergers are allowed unless
       antitrust authorities can prove that added concentration would do harm.  If the
       authorities err, and permit excessive consolidation, about all that happens is that
       the price of bottle water rises and innovation slacks off in the design of sneakers. 
       But in telecommunications, the threat that concentration might shut off sources of
       information is profound.
  
  It's time for the FCC to realize that we are not dealing with bottled water or
  sneakers, but with the dissemination of news and information -- the lifeblood of our
  democratic way of life.  In the past few years, the number of entities that control what
  people watch on television has dwindled to alarming levels.  With this decision, the FCC
  has failed yet again to stem this crisis and ensure a robust marketplace of ideas.