Comcast has edged out controversial agribusiness giant Monsanto in Consumerist's March Madness-style "Worst Company in America" poll.

"In one of the narrowest Final Death Matches in the centuries’ long history of WCIA battle, Comcast managed to hold the genetically modified body blows of Monsanto," Consumerist wrote.

To outlast 31 other competitors, Comcast had to win five rounds, defeating Yahoo, Facebook, Verizon, and SeaWorld before taking on Monsanto. The final poll was close, with 51.5 percent of voters selecting Comcast.

Consumerist is owned by Consumer Reports, which is arguing against Comcast's proposed merger with Time Warner Cable, so it's perhaps no surprise that Comcast fared poorly. Consumerist told Ars that while the poll wasn't scientific, it included many thousands of people, and the site blocked repeat voters. A Consumer Reports survey that was more thorough than the Consumerist poll rated Comcast 15th out of 17th in customer satisfaction for telecom providers.

It's not just Consumer Reports and the Consumerist criticizing Comcast, though. The American Customer Satisfaction Index, which takes a scientific approach, has Comcast rated as the second worst pay TV company, ahead of Time Warner Cable. Comcast lags behind a variety of cable and non-cable TV providers, including Verizon, DirecTV, AT&T, Dish, Cox, and Charter, the index found.

Comcast is trying to convince the government that its purchase of Time Warner Cable will benefit consumers.

In response to the Consumerist poll, a Comcast spokesperson told Ars, "We are investing billions of dollars in our network infrastructure and are developing innovative products and features to make it easier and more convenient for our customers to interact with us. We look at a number of national surveys and our own internal metrics, and while we’re making progress, we know we have work to do. For example, we’ve improved more than any other provider over the last four years in J.D. Powers Overall Satisfaction ratings—almost 100 points in video and 80 points in high-speed data."

Comcast also "won" Consumerist's poll in 2010. Electronic Arts won the prize last year for the second year in a row. The poll began in 2006. Other winners include Halliburton, the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), Countrywide Financial, AIG, and BP.