WHEN: Today, Wednesday, May 28th
WHERE: CNBC's "Squawk on the Street"
Following is the unofficial transcript of a CNBC EXCLUSIVE interview with Brian Roberts, Comcast Chairman & CEO. Video from the interview is available on CNBC.com.
All references must be sourced to CNBC.
CARL QUINTANILLA: JOINING US AT THE CODE CONFERENCE IS BRIAN ROBERTS THE CHAIRMAN AND CEO OF COMCAST THE PARENT COMPANY OF NBC UNIVERSAL AND CNBC AND JULIA JOINS US AS WELL. IT IS GOOD TO SEE YOU GOOD MORNING.
BRIAN ROBERTS: GOOD MORNING
QUINTANILLA: THE TIMES SAID THIS IS GOING TO CREATE A COLOSSUS THE KIND WE HAVEN'T SEEN SINCE THE BREAK UP OF AT&T. DID SELLING THIS DEAL JUST GET A LOT MORE DIFFICULT?
ROBERTS: I DON'T THINK SO. BUT THEY'RE ENTITLED TO THEIR OPINION. THEY GOT A LOT OF FACTS I WOULD THINK THEY DIDN'T QUITE LOOK AT RIGHT IN THE DAYS OF AT&T THAT WAS ONE PHONE COMPANY. IT'S TRULY AN ANTIQUATED NOTION TO SAY THERE'S NOT COMPETITION IN VIDEO. WE'VE LOST VIDEO CUSTOMERS UNFORTUNATELY FOR 26 STRAIGHT QUARTERS UNTIL TWO QUARTERS AGO FROM SATELLITE, DIRECTV, DISH NETWORK, VERIZON, AT&T AND FIOS AND U-VERSE. PEOPLE WHO ARE CORD CUTTING. IT IS A TREMENDOUSLY CHANGING SPACE NEVER BEEN MOVING FASTER, AND I THINK THAT THEY WERE LOOKING AT THE WRONG THING. THE WASHINGTON POST, CHICAGO TRIBUNE, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ALL HAD A DIFFERENT POINT OF VIEW. SO THEY'RE ENTITLED TO THEIR OPINION WE WILL CONTINUE TO ADVOCATE FOR THE MERGER.
JULIA BOORSTIN: SO MUCH OF THE OPPOSITION CENTERS ON THE IDEA THAT YOU CONTROLLING SO MUCH BROADBAND ACCESS, WOULD BE BAD FOR THE LITTLE GUY, FOR START-UPS. WHAT ARE THEY GETTING WRONG?
ROBERTS: FIRST OF ALL, BOTH IN VIDEO AND IN BROADBAND WE DON'T COMPETE WITH TIME WARNER. WE HAVE TO START WITH THAT VERY FUNDAMENTAL POINT. THEY'RE IN NY. WE'RE IN PHILADELPHIA. THEY'RE IN L.A., WE'RE IN SAN FRANCISCO. YOU CAN'T BUY A COMCAST IN NEW YORK, CAN'T BUY A TIME WARNER IN PHILADELPHIA. SO THERE'S NO REDUCTION IN COMPETITION. IN BROADBAND OR IN TELEVISION. SECONDLY, YOU HAVE FEDERAL RULES AROUND THE BUSINESS IN BROADBAND AND WE'RE GOING THROUGH THE OPEN INTERNET QUESTION. WE SUPPORT AN OPEN INTERNET AND HAVING RULES THAT THE RIGHT KIND OF RULES THAT ARE LEGALLY ENFORCEABLE AND ALLOW FOR INVESTMENT AND INNOVATION BUT ALSO GIVE CONSUMERS GREAT CONFIDENCE THEY CAN DO WHAT THEY WANT TO DO AND NEVER GOING TO BE SLOWED DOWN, NEVER GOING TO BE BLOCKED. SOME OF THE THINGS WE'VE READ THAT ARE SCARING PEOPLE HAS NOT EVER BEEN FOR 20 YEARS HOW WE'VE HAD OUR MOST SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS SELLING BROADBAND. FINALLY WE HAVE TOO MUCH BROADBAND. AGAIN YOU CAN'T BUY A COMCAST BROADBAND IN NEW YORK. THE TOTAL OF THIS TRANSACTION IS THAT WE'RE GOING TO GO TO ABOUT 29% MARKET SHARE, LET'S USE VIDEO, WE WERE THERE BEFORE. ABOUT TEN YEARS AGO. WITH ALL OF THE COMPETITION WE'VE COME BACK TO 22. THE COURTS HAVE LOOKED AT THIS QUESTION AND SAID IF YOU'RE LESS THAN 30%, THAT'S WHAT THE FCC WANTED. THAT'S EVEN TOO LOW OF A STANDARD. AND IN BROADBAND I THINK THERE IS NO NATIONAL BROADBAND MARKET. IT'S A LOCAL MARKET. WE HAVE COMPETITION FROM THE PHONE COMPANY, CLEARLY WIRELESS AND WI-FI AND SOON GOOGLE FIBER AND OTHER INNOVATION. SO IF YOU COME AND WORK AT OUR COMPANY ALL WE'RE WORRIED ABOUT IS COMPETITION, COMPETITION IMPROVING. WE'VE INCREASED SPEEDS 13 TIMES IN 12 YEARS WE DON'T THINK THERE SHOULD BE ANY ISSUE WITH GOING 7 MILLION CUSTOMERS BIGGER.
QUINTANILLA: REED HASTINGS IS HERE AT THIS CONFERENCE. NETFLIX OF COURSE PAYS YOU FOR SOME ACCESS. AT THE SAME TIME IT SAYS THIS DEAL WOULD GIVE YOU ANTI-COMPETITIVE LEVERAGE. HAVE YOU TALKED TO HIM? WHERE DOES THAT CONVERSATION STAND?
ROBERTS: WE HAVE TALKED TO HIM AND WE'VE HAD AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE TWO COMPANIES WHICH WE DID FIVE DAYS AFTER WE ANNOUNCED TIME WARNER CABLE SO NO NEW INFORMATION. HE SEEMED AT THE TIME HE PUT OUT POSITIVE STATEMENTS I THINK IT'S JUST A FUNDAMENTAL BUSINESS DISPUTE. HE WOULD LIKE ALL OF HIS TRAFFIC NOT THE CONNECTIVITY, BUT JUST THE TRANSIT, THE CDNs THEY CALL IT, CONTENT DELIVERY NETWORKS, TO THE OPEN INTERNET. THAT FIRST PART THE FIRST MILE, NOT THE LAST MILE, HE WOULD LIKE THAT ALL FOR FREE. HE'S BEEN PAYING OTHER CARRIERS TO DO IT FOR HIM. EVERY OTHER MAJOR TRAFFIC PROVIDER USES TRANSIT OR SOMEHOW PAYS SOMEONE TO GET IT TO THE OPEN INTERNET. AND, OF COURSE, HE WOULD LIKE IT FOR FREE. IT'S A BUSINESS DISPUTE. WHO WOULDN'T LIKE IT FOR FREE. YOU USED TO PAY THE POST OFFICE THREE QUARTERS OF A BILLION DOLLARS TO SEND DVDs AROUND AND THEY'RE USED TO WANTING IT TO NOW BE FREE. THE OTHER HAND, WE DON'T WANT TO CHARGE NETFLIX DIFFERENT THAN ANY OTHER COMPANY BUT THEY DO AMOUNT TO A THIRD OF ALL THE BITS ON THE INTERNET. WE WANT TO PROVIDE GREAT EXPERIENCES FOR OUR CUSTOMERS AND WE HAVE TO MANAGE THAT TRAFFIC TOGETHER WITH THEM AND THE DEAL THAT WE MADE WAS THEY REDUCED THEIR EXPENSES GENERALLY SPEAKING OVER THE LIFE OF THE AGREEMENT AND SPEED UP THE EXPERIENCE GETTING IT TO THE INTERNET. SO CUSTOMER PERFORMANCE IS BETTER, THEY'VE SAVED MONEY. I'M NOT SURE WHY THAT ISN'T IN EVERYONE'S INTEREST.
BOORSTIN: NOW WE'RE IN THE MIDST OF THIS DEBATE ABOUT NET NEUTRALITY. BECAUSE WE'RE IN THE MIDST OF FIGURING OUT THE FCC IS FIGURING OUT WHAT THE NET NEUTRALITY RULES SHOULD LOOK LIKE. REED HASTINGS ALSO SAYS YOUR BEHAVIOR HAS BEEN ANTI-NET NEUTRALITY, ALTHOUGH OBVIOUSLY YOU DEBATE THAT. NOW COMCAST HAS AGREED TO COMPLY WITH THE OLD NET-NEUTRALITY RULES OPEN INTERNET ORDER FOR SEVERAL YEARS BUT WHAT DO YOU WANT THE NEW RULES TO LOOK LIKE? EVENTUALLY IT WILL IMPACT YOU.
ROBERTS: FIRST OF ALL WHEN THEY WROTE THE OLD RULES, JUST TO MAKE SURE ALL THE VIEWERS KNOW WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT FOR THE OPEN INTERNET 2010, THE FCC PUT OUT RULES FOR THE OPEN INTERNET AND WE SUPPORTED THOSE RULES. SO MUCH SO WHEN WE BOUGHT NBC UNIVERSAL WE WERE ASKED WOULD YOU AGREE TO THE RULES EVEN WHILE THEIR CHALLENGED IN COURT AND WE SAID YES, THROUGH 2018. WHEN THE RULES WERE CHALLENGED IN COURT BY VERIZON, WHICH WE DID NOT CHALLENGE THOSE RULES, THEY HAVE REMANDED IT BACK TO THE FCC TO CLARIFY CERTAIN AREAS. WE'VE SAID WE WOULD LIKE TO WORK WITH THE FCC TO HAVE CLARITY FOR CONSUMERS IS IMPORTANT, TO SAY THAT WE SUPPORT OPENNESS, WE WANT PEOPLE TO REALLY KNOW THERE'S TEETH IN THAT SENTENCE. AND AT THE SAME TIME WE DON'T WANT TO GO SO FAR TO A TYPE OF REGULATION THAT SOME HAVE ADVOCATED THAT WOULD BE LIKE THE 100 YEAR OLD PHONE MONOPOLY WHERE THE RULES WERE LITERALLY WRITTEN 100 PLUS YEARS AGO AND CAN REGULATE EVERY PART OF YOUR BUSINESS. THESE ARE INDUSTRIES CHANGING SO FAST. AMERICA'S COMPETITIVENESS, SMALL BUSINESSES, INNOVATION, GREAT APPS HAVE ALL RELIED ON THE INTERNET AND IMPROVEMENTS IN INNOVATION CONSTANTLY GETTING BETTER. TO REGULATE IT LIKE A PHONE COMPANY THAT WAS THE ONLY PROVIDER COMPLETELY IGNORES THE REALITY OF THIS INDUSTRY IN MY OPINION AND MANY OTHERS AND WE'VE SAID THAT TIME WARNER CABLE, IF WE COMPLETE THE TRANSACTION, WILL BE UNDER OUR COMMITMENT TO OPEN INTERNET THROUGH 2018, ONCE AGAIN GIVING CHANCE FOR THE GOVERNMENT TO PUT IN NEW RULES, HOPEFULLY THE SAME TYPES OF RULES THAT CALM THIS DEBATE, THERE'S NOT A PROBLEM, THIS IS ONLY EXISTING BECAUSE THERE WAS A COURT RULING. NO ONE HAS ACCUSED DIFFERENT COMPANIES OF BEHAVIORS. I DON'T BELIEVE IN VIOLATING ANY RULES. THERE'S NOT A PROBLEM HERE. IT WAS IMPORTANT TO GET SOMETHING BACK IN PLACE THAT EVERYONE CAN FEEL GOOD ABOUT AND THAT'S WHAT WE HOPE TO HAPPEN.
QUINTANILLA: IF I AM REGULATOR DOES AN AT&T/DIRECTV DEAL MAKE ME MORE HAPPY ABOUT YOURS BECAUSE THERE'S ANOTHER STRONG PLAYER OR IS IT TOO MUCH TOO FAST AND I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT THAT?
ROBERTS: I DON'T WANT TO COMMENT ON THEIR TRANSACTION EXCEPT I WOULD SAY CONFIRMS FOR ME THAT THIS IS A CONSTANTLY CHANGING AREA. WE MADE A DECISION TIME WARNER WAS IN PLAY, THEY HAD DROPPED CBS, LOST SOMW CABLE CUSTOMERS, CHARTER WAS RUNNING A HOSTILE SLATE TO BUY THE COMPANY AND IN OUR JUDGEMENT SOMETHING WAS GOING TO HAPPEN. IT WAS CAN WE GO FROM BEING A REGIONAL COMPANY WHICH IS WHAT COMCAST IS, MY DAD STARTED COMCAST 50 YEARS AGO, THERE WERE 30,000 COMMUNITIES, EACH COMMUNITY GOT A CABLE LICENSE. NO BUSINESS BEFORE OR SINCE HAS BEEN STARTED THAT WAY THE GEOGRAPHY TODAY IS THE CLOUD. YOU CLICK AMAZON GO ANYWHERE, GO TO GOOGLE GO ANYWHERE. YOU GO TO, YOU KNOW, FACEBOOK ALL OVER THE WORLD AND HERE WE'RE NOT IN NEW YORK AND NOT IN LOS ANGELES. WE TOOK A LOOK AT THIS SITUATION AND SAID, BECOMING MORE OF A NATIONAL COMPANY WAS A GREAT ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY WITH TIME WARNER FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER PUTTING THOSE MARKETS FOR SALE AND SECONDLY, THAT WE WOULD BE UNDER THIS 30%. AND SO IS BUYING AND EVERY HOME IN AMERICA CAN GET DIRECTV. SO WHEN THEY WANT TO GET A PROGRAM LIKE SUNDAY TICKET, EVERYBODY – THE NFL KNOWS EVERYONE CAN NOW SEE MY PROGRAMMING. IF YOU ONLY SELL IT TO COMCAST, WELL WHAT ABOUT TIME WARNER? SO IN A WORLD WHERE YOU SEE LOTS OF COMPETITION HAVING MORE OF A NATIONAL FOOTPRINT – NOT THIS 50-YEAR-OLD REGIONAL FOOTPRINT – WAS REALLY IMPORTANT TO US. IN THE CASE OF AT&T AND DIRECTV, THEY'LL MAKE THEIR OWN CASE OF WHY THEY'RE TRYING TO DO THIS, BUT IT CONFIRMS FOR ME THAT BUSINESSES DON'T STAND STILL, MARKETS EVOLVE, COMPETITION IS CLEARLY ROBUST AND I'M GLAD WE'RE GOING TO MAKE THE CASE AND HOPEFULLY MAKE THIS DEAL HAPPEN.
BOORSTIN: NOW WHEN IT COMES TO BROADBAND I UNDERSTAND YOU'RE EXPERIMENTING WITH USAGE BASED PRICING, WHICH WOULD BE BAD NEWS FOR NETFLIX BINGERS WHO SPEND A LOT OF TIME STREAMING VIDEO. HOW DO YOU ROLL THAT OUT WITHOUT FRUSTRATING USERS WHO DON'T WANT TO PAY MORE?
ROBERTS: WE HAVE EXPERIMENTED IN TWO OR THREE MARKETS WITH SOME USAGE BASED PRICING. OBVIOUSLY THE NOTION THAT WE DON'T WANT TO FRUSTRATE CUSTOMERS. WE'VE GOTTEN RID OF ANY KIND OF CAP AND WE ARE LOOKING FOR WAYS TO SHARE THE COST OF THIS NETWORK. IT'S EXPLODING, 30 TO 40% INCREASE IN THE AMOUNT OF BITS PEOPLE CONSUME EVERY YEAR FOR 20 COMPOUNDED YEARS IN A ROW AND PROBABLY THE NEXT 20 YEARS. THAT'S AN EXCITING HIGH-CLASS OPPORTUNITY AND WE'LL KEEP EXPERIMENTING, BUT AT THE MOMENT WE DON'T HAVE NEW NEWS ON THAT KIND OF PRICING.
QUINTANILLA: FINALLY, WE SHOULD END ON A NOTE, X 1 IS A HIT, RIGHT? YOU'VE GOT THE OLYMPICS THROUGH 2032. NBC IS NUMBER ONE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN TEN YEARS.
ROBERTS: YEAH.
QUINTANILLA: IS EVERYTHING THE TIME WARNER DEAL, DOES IT MAKE EVERYTHING ELSE THAT'S GOING WELL, DOES IT MAKE IT TOO NOISY OR NOT?
ROBERTS: WE KNEW IT WOULD HAVE LOTS OF REVIEW AND, YOU KNOW, WE BUILT THIS COMPANY AT DIFFERENT MOMENTS OVER 50 YEARS. MY FATHER, MYSELF, A LOT OF GREAT PEOPLE WHO HAVE WORKED AT THE COMPANY TO GIVE OURSELVES AN OPPORTUNITY TO TRY TO KEEP INNOVATING AND COMPETING. BE HERE FOR 50 MORE YEARS. I WOULD LIKE TO SAY TO PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE FUTURE IS? BECAUSE I SURELY AM NOT SURE. AND SO YOU TRY TO GET SMART PEOPLE AND LOTS OF DIVERSIFIED ASSETS. AND IN THE CASE OF NBCUNIVERSAL, THINGS COULD NOT BE GOING BETTER. STEVE BURKE AND HIS TEAM AT NBC AND NEIL SMIT AT CABLE WITH X1 AND MIKE ANGELAKIS WHO HELPED US PUT THIS TRANSACTION TOGETHER. WE HAVE A WONDERFUL TEAM OF PEOPLE. BUT AT NBCUNIVERSAL, WE JUST COMPLETED NUMBER ONE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A DECADE. WE HAVE HAD WONDERFUL RUN AT UNIVERSAL PICTURES, NEIGHBORS CAME OUT A COUPLE WEEKS AGO. WE'VE GOT UNIVERSAL THEME PARKS OPENING HARRY POTTER 2 THIS SUMMER, AND THE LARGEST NEW HOTEL IN NORTH AMERICA. A LOT OF MOMENTUM. AND OF COURSE THE CABLE CHANNELS – USA, AND THE OLYMPICS DRAWS IT ALL TOGETHER. AND TO HAVE THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE AWARD US THE GAMES BY SAYING THIS IS THE COMPANY WE PREFER TO DO BUSINESS WITH, WE'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE AN AUCTION, WE'RE JUST GOING TO RENEW WITH YOU FOR AN UNPRECEDENTED AMOUNT OF TIME, THROUGH 2032. WE WERE PROFITABLE IN SOCHI, PROFITABLE IN LONDON, SO WE THINK WITH A 1% INCREASE IN COSTS THROUGH 2032, WHICH IS WHAT THE DEAL WORKS OUT TO, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A GREAT RUN, INVEST IN THE OLYMPICS, INVEST IN TECHNOLOGY. IT IS AN EXCITING TIME TO BE AT THE COMPANY.
QUINTANILLA: YOU'VE GOT A LOT GOING ON. AND NOT TO MENTION YOUR PRESENTATION AT THE CODE CONFERENCE HERE TODAY. BRIAN, THANKS FOR STOPPING BY.
ROBERTS: THANK YOU, GUYS.
QUINTANILLA: BRIAN ROBERTS, THE CHAIRMAN AND CEO OF COMCAST.
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