I don't think it will have much of an affect on the viewing public. And that's why the FCC finally got rid of those programming rules. But there is a risk that a studio decides to stuff the pipeline with mediocre product simply because they have a financial interest in the show. You have seen that to some degree at ABC where the network is suddenly carrying a one-hour special on whatever cartoon Disney is putting in theatres this week. In media distribution is gold.
Distribution is everything.
I don't think there is much risk of that. There are fewer companies, but there are still enough companies to insure competition and offer diversity of programming. This deal simply puts Viacom in the same league as Disney and Newscorp, which owns Fox. The FCC rules prohibit CBS from owning another smaller network. So at this point in time I would say the future of UPN is very much in doubt.