New York, February 19 (RHC)-- Consumer advocates and media reform groups are speaking out against a planned merger between the cable giants Comcast and Time Warner. Comcast has announced plans to buy Time Warner Cable for more than $45 billion in stock, giving it a virtual monopoly in 19 of the nation’s 20 largest media markets.

The media reform group Free Press says the deal is "unthinkable" while former FCC commissioner Michael Copps said it’s "so over the top that it ought to be dead on arrival at the FCC."

It could take the FCC more than a year to review the deal. Comcast is expected to stage a lobbying blitz similar to when it won approval for an NBC Universal takeover in 2011.

According to the news website Republic Report, at least two officials who oversee antitrust enforcement have close Comcast ties.