We’re barely into May, and it’s already been an incredibly busy year for the FCC. Even major issues like a spectrum auction and a ruling on municipal broadband were overshadowed by the two huge proceedings around net neutrality and the Comcast/TWC merger. And so when FCC chairman Tom Wheeler sat down for a “fireside chat” at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in New York this week, he had a lot to say. [More]
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FCC Chair: Comcast Made Right Decision Scrapping Merger; Plan For Net Neutrality Is “Not To Lose”
By 5.4.15
Comcast Is About To Have More Internet Subscribers Than Cable Customers
By 5.4.15
Cable companies can try to downplay cord-cutting all they want, but even if consumers aren’t rushing to get rid of pay-TV plans, the fact is that the Internet has quickly become more important than cable and is likely to become the dominant business for cable providers. [More]
California Still Deciding Whether To Block Comcast Merger That Is No Longer Happening
By 5.4.15
Even though the $45 billion merger of Comcast and Time Warner Cable officially failed more than a week ago. One might assume that this collapse would have sufficed for the California state regulator who proposed blocking the deal in that state, but yet the merger approval process in California moves forward — even without a merger to approve. [More]
Net Neutrality Is Already Improving Internet Connections And It Hasn’t Even Gone Into Effect
By 5.1.15
Though the FCC narrowly voted to approve the new Open Internet Order (AKA net neutrality) several months ago, the rules don’t actually kick in until June 12. Yet with those new guidelines looming, some Internet service providers are already beginning to play nice with the companies that do most of the heavy lifting for the web. [More]
Why Everyone Is Suddenly Dying To Buy A Cable Company You May Never Even Have Heard Of
By 5.1.15
Odds are (unless you live in central Florida) that you probably don’t know much about Bright House Networks. The cable company serves about 2 million TV and internet customers, mostly in Florida and also in Alabama, Indiana, Michigan, and California. But in the many eddies rippling through the cable world after the sinking of the Comcast/TWC merger, this one regional provider may be poised to make or break some pretty big deals. [More]
Comcast Decides Competing Against Municipal Fiber Is Just Fine, Brings 2 Gbps Service to Chattanooga
By 4.30.15
While most of us languish away without even a flicker on the horizon of someday getting gigabit speeds or real broadband competition, residents in a handful of cities are lucky enough to have both. This summer, Chattanoogans will join the shortlist of Americans who not only have blazing fast internet, but also a choice of providers. [More]
Time Warner Cable Says It’s Not Seeking Rebound Romance With Cox
By 4.27.15
It’s only been a few days since Comcast and Time Warner Cable got tired of waiting for the inevitable regulatory objections to their wedding and called off the whole $45 billion marriage. While Comcast can enjoy the single life for a bit before deciding what to do next, TWC is already being linked to multiple suitors. First there was news that Charter, who was originally rejected in favor of Comcast’s bigger, sexier proposal, was once again standing outside TWC’s window with a boombox over its head. Now come rumors that TWC may be trying to make some merger magic happen with Cox. [More]
Sen. Al Franken: Still Not Enough Competition For Cable & Internet Access
By 4.27.15
While many opponents of the Comcast/Time Warner Cable merger were setting off fireworks last Friday to celebrate the defeat of this deal that would have concentrated nearly 60% of the nation’s high-speed broadband accounts under one company, realists among us are pointing out that the end of that ill-fated engagement does nothing to change the already dismal competition landscape in many markets. [More]
That Was Fast: Charter Reportedly Already Reaching Out To TWC About Possible Merger
By 4.24.15
Today’s headlines are all about Comcast failing to buy Time Warner Cable, but there weren’t just two players in the game. Another company is losing out: Charter would have been the lucky recipient of all the mega-merger’s spun-off customers, giving them greater consolidation over markets mainly in the midwest. But with the failure of the mega-merger, TWC is now minus one new owner, and Charter is minus all those new paying customers. So if a new deal i already in the works, well, color us unsurprised. [More]
What Will Comcast Do With The $45B It Couldn’t Spend Buying Time Warner Cable?
By 4.24.15
Comcast’s dream of achieving full coast-to-coast cable dominance this year came to an official end this morning when they had to admit the Time Warner Cable merger was just not going to happen. But Comcast is a huge business, with impatient shareholders. They need to continue proving growth, which means buying other businesses to make theirs bigger. TWC might not be on the table anymore, but something, somewhere has to be. [More]
Comcast CEO Tries To Cheer Up Employees Following Implosion Of Time Warner Cable Merger
By 4.24.15
While the majority of American consumers were opposed to the merger of the nation’s two largest cable/Internet providers, there is a large group of people for whom today’s news may be a big downer: Comcast employees. [More]
Anatomy Of A Comcastrophe: A Look Back At How Comcast Failed To Buy Time Warner Cable For $45B
By 4.24.15
We were skeptical from the start, but obviously someone at Comcast believed that the company would eventually be allowed to acquire Time Warner Cable for the massive sum of $45 billion. Yet this morning the nation’s largest pay-TV and Internet provider walked away from the mega-merger that would have given it unprecedented market share in both of these industries and control over cable and broadband service for the two largest cities in the U.S. So how did we get here? [More]
It’s True: The Comcast/Time Warner Cable Merger Is Officially Dead
By 4.24.15
As it was predicted yesterday, so it has come to pass: after 15 months of trying to get it approved, and opposition not only from consumers, consumer advocates, and lawmakers but also from regulators, Comcast is giving up on its dreams of acquiring Time Warner Cable and walking away entirely from the merger. [More]
Comcast Reportedly Planning To Bail On Time Warner Cable Merger
By 4.23.15
Following reports that both the Dept. of Justice and the FCC could use their authority to throw up roadblocks to the long-delayed $45 billion acquisition of Time Warner Cable, Comcast is now reportedly planning to give up on the deal. [More]
There Are Two Things That Could Stop The Comcast/TWC Merger, And We Might Get Both
By 4.23.15
Update: Comcast is reportedly planning to back out from the merger deal as early as tomorrow in the face of the likely opposition from both the FCC and Justice Department. [More]
Possible FCC Hearing Could Signal End Of Comcast, Time Warner Cable Merger
By 4.22.15
While it’s already been reported that antitrust lawyers at the Dept. of Justice are leaning toward moving to block the $45 billion merger of Comcast and Time Warner Cable, staffers at the FCC — the other regulatory body reviewing the merger — are recommending a move that could signal opposition to the deal from both agencies. [More]
Consumer Advocates Say There Are No Conditions That Would Make Comcast, Time Warner Cable Merger Acceptable
By 4.22.15
Comcast representatives are reportedly meeting with regulators today to discuss the status of the cable colossus’s pending $45 billion acquisition of Time Warner Cable. While some reports claim that antitrust lawyers at the Dept. of Justice are leaning toward suing to block the merger, others believe that the DOJ and FCC will attempt to put conditions on the deal in order to approve it. But consumer advocacy groups say that there are no conditions that would make this merger palatable. [More]
Senators Urge Regulators To Block Comcast Acquisition of Time Warner Cable
By 4.21.15
As we head into the final stretch of regulatory review for the pending $45 billion of Comcast and Time Warner Cable — and with the Dept. of Justice possibly prepping to block the deal — a group of U.S. Senators has written to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and FCC Chair Tom Wheeler urging them to prevent these two companies from getting hitched. [More]
