Coming off an announcement last week that it would carry thes oon to launch HBO Now streaming service, Apple reportedly has imminent plans to offer online access to live TV and on-demand content. [More]
comcast
Comcast Continues To Screw Up Accounts, Even After Local News Involvement
By 3.16.15
We’ve done seemingly countless stories in which the only reason a company paid attention to a wronged consumer was the involvement of the media. And in most cases where this happens, the customer’s problem is finally resolved, never to crop up again. But that’s not always true. [More]
Review Of Comcast/TWC, AT&T/DirecTV Mergers On Hold Again Over Confidentiality Issues
By 3.13.15
Once again, the FCC has paused the 180-day clocks to review the two pending mega-mergers on its to-do list: Comcast’s acquisition of Time Warner Cable, and the marriage of AT&T to DirecTV. This time, the FCC is saying it can’t go forward with the review of these deals until a court determines whether interested parties should be granted limited access to confidential information about the involved companies. [More]
The HBO Now Announcement Shows Why Net Neutrality Is So Important
By 3.9.15
This afternoon, HBO announced the details of its HBO Now streaming service that will finally allow consumers without cable TV to access the premium pay-TV network without having to be burdened with a cable bill for channels they don’t watch. But the fact that HBO has opted to go with Apple as its launch partner and not Comcast or any of the major pay-TV carriers is a reminder of just how important net neutrality is. [More]
Could Comcast Try To Buy Netflix Or T-Mobile If Time Warner Cable Deal Fails?
By 3.6.15
After more than a year of stop-start-stop regulatory review, the FCC and Justice Dept. are currently in the final stretch of deciding whether to approve, block, or put conditions on the mega-merger between Comcast and Time Warner Cable. With even some formerly optimistic industry analysts now having their doubts about the deal’s success, it’s time to consider what Kabletown might do if the acquisition falls through. [More]
Congresswoman Backed By AT&T, Comcast Introduces Bill To Kill Net Neutrality
By 3.5.15
While some members of Congress have argued that the best way to deal with net neutrality is to create a law that guides what broadband providers can and can’t do with regard to data, one legislator from Tennessee — who has received significant money from neutrality’s biggest opponents — has introduced a bill that would kill neutrality and strip the FCC of its authority to regulate broadband as a necessary piece of telecommunications infrastructure. [More]
Comcast Not Afraid Of Streaming Services; Won’t Commit To Playing Nice With Them
By 3.5.15
Earlier this week, a Dish executive claimed that Comcast was afraid of so-called over-the-top streaming services like Dish’s Sling TV and that the cable giant could use its size and influence to prevent broadcasters from signing onto Sling and others. Now Comcast is saying it has nothing to fear from these new services, but won’t commit to avoiding deals that make it difficult for them to compete. [More]
Is Netflix Trying To Have Its Net Neutrality Cake And Eat It Too?
By 3.4.15
Last week’s vote by the FCC to approve new net neutrality rules was seen as a big win for streaming services like Netflix, as it prevents ISPs from throttling or blocking access to online content and from prioritizing any data. And indeed, Netflix has been one of the more vocal corporate cheerleaders for neutrality. But that apparently hasn’t stopped the company from making deals that calls into question Netflix’s actual stance on the issue. [More]
NBC Cooking Up Streaming Service For Its Comedic Offerings
By 3.3.15
Much like Disney’s recent revelation that it now owns a bunch of Star Wars and Marvel stuff might justify standalone streaming services, NBC has reportedly awoken to the notion that it might be able to make some money selling access to its comedy library. [More]
Dish: Comcast Could Still Use Its Size To Block Streaming Content
By 3.3.15
The FCC’s recently approved net neutrality rules will prohibit all Internet service providers from blocking any legal content from being sent or received by their users. But when an ISP also controls the nation’s largest pay-TV audience, perhaps it could use that leverage to prevent certain content from ever going online in the first place. [More]
From Applause To Lawsuits And Legislation: What Key Players Are Saying About Net Neutrality
By 2.26.15
Over the summer, we rounded up what all the key players in broadband and online were saying about the potential for the FCC to write a clear net neutrality rule. Earlier today, the FCC actually went and made that rule; here’s what everyone has to say about it now. [More]
What You Need To Know About Tomorrow’s Votes On Net Neutrality And Municipal Broadband
By 2.25.15
On Thursday morning, the Federal Communications Commission will sit down to discuss and vote on two big issues — net neutrality and municipal broadband — that the cable and telecom industries have campaigned heavily to defeat and obscure. Because of these industry-backed efforts and the legalese involved, many consumers are having difficulty separating myth from reality. In an effort to cut through that haze, we’ve attempted to answer the most pressing questions about these two topics before tomorrow’s vote. [More]
These 2 Charts From Comcast Show Why Net Neutrality Is Vital
By 2.24.15
Comcast released its quarterly earnings report and the timing couldn’t be better, with the FCC set to vote on Chairman Tom Wheeler’s net neutrality proposal later this week. [More]
Detroit Business Owner Unhappy To Be Featured In “Bullsh*t Comcast-Powered Sh*tfest” Video
By 2.23.15
Imagine you own a business that’s gotten some good press for the work you do. Now imagine finding some of that press repurposed into a video sponsored by a company that you really, really dislike, and which is trying to spend billions of dollars to dump your entire area off into the hands of a brand new company that may be even worse. [More]
Judges Question FCC’s Need To Share What Comcast & DirecTV Pay To Broadcasters
By 2.20.15
Those following the merger of Comcast with Time Warner Cable and AT&T’s acquisition of DirecTV may remember that the FCC had hoped to make some of the cable companies’ confidential contract information available to parties with a direct interest in these deals. In November, a federal appeals court preliminarily sided with the broadcasters and temporarily blocked the FCC from sharing this info, and this morning the court heard arguments from both sides on whether or not these contracts should be kept under lock and key for good. [More]
Comcast Rep Lies, Tells Customer That Data Cap Is “Mandated By Law”
By 2.20.15
For nearly three years, Comcast has been trying out data caps — sorry, “data thresholds” — in certain markets around the country where customers who reach a certain monthly usage amount are given the option of buying additional data at an outrageous price. Aside from pure greed on the behalf of Internet service providers, there is no need for most data caps, but one Comcast rep is telling customers that they are required by law. [More]
Time Warner Cable Out-Comcasts Comcast, Renames Customer “C*nt”
By 2.19.15
Lest you think that it’s just Comcast employees that are spitefully renaming customers “A**hole Brown,” or “super b*tch,” the company’s pending merger partner has proven it can do much worse — by slapping the C-bomb on a customer’s bill. [More]
NBC Now Streaming Live Via App, But Only In Certain Markets
By 2.19.15
Years after other ABC opened up its live network feed to online streaming, NBC is finally allowing people to access its shows live online via the network’s Android and iOS app — but only in certain markets and with the now-common requirement of having a pay-TV subscription. [More]
