Less than a month after our benevolent benefactors at Consumers Union announced its petition in opposition to the sale of NBC Universal to Comcast, the nonprofit has sent more than 55,000 signatures to the FCC from people who want them to just say no to Kabletown.

“This deal has serious problems that have struck a chord with a lot of consumers, including Comcast customers,” said Parul P. Desai, policy counsel for Consumers Union. “This is a bad deal because it would give Comcast powerful incentives to withhold NBC content from competitors and drive up prices for cable TV and Internet. The combination of Comcast and NBC would be a media giant with great potential for abusive behavior. In this economy, consumers should not be at risk of bigger bills for cable and Internet service.”

Adds Desai, “The companies maintain they can be trusted not to engage in anti-competitive practices, but Comcast has a well-documented history of treating customers poorly. Comcast routinely hits people with rate hikes and slaps penalties on those who want to switch to another company for better service.”

Consumers Union recently launched SayNoToComcastNBC.com where those who agree that a unified Comcast/NBC isn’t in the interest of consumerst can sign on to express their opposition to the deal to the FCC.

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.