It may be a coincidence that Comcast’s proposed acquisition of Time Warner Cable is occurring during the lead-up to a midterm election season where candidates from both parties need cash to hold on to their seats in the Congress and Senate, but that very need for funds is giving the Kabletown Krew a good opportunity to grease the wheels on Capitol Hill. [More]
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Comcast/TWC Netflix Speeds Improve After Payoff; Verizon Still Hasn’t Bottomed Out
By 3.10.14
After months of slowed-down data speeds for Netflix users on Comcast and Time Warner Cable’s network, speeds rebounded the very same month that Netflix agreed to pay Comcast money for more direct access to its network. [More]
A Cable Company In Harry Potter’s Clothing: Comcast Dumping Millions Into Theme Parks
By 3.10.14
While you might imagine any theme park involving Comcast to feature a giant whale ride that swims around devouring all the fish competition in the sea (or krill, if it’s that kind of whale), the reality has a lot more to do with flying boy wizards. Comcast is dumping hundreds of millions of dollars into its theme parks in California and Florida in a pitch to compete with Disney. [More]
Sprint Owner May Push T-Mobile Merger As Broadband Competition Solution
By 3.10.14
Since taking a controlling ownership in Sprint, Japanese telecom company SoftBank has made no attempt to hide the lust it has in its heart for fellow wireless company T-Mobile USA. Since then, federal regulators have basically told SoftBank to put its ardor on ice because there is already too little competition in the wireless market. But SoftBank may have a trick up its sleeve, coming at the deal through the lens of a market that is even less competitive — broadband. [More]
Here’s What the Lack of Broadband Competition Looks Like on a Map
By 3.7.14
When announcing Comcast’s intention to buy Time Warner Cable, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts called cable a “highly competitive and dynamic marketplace.” Dynamic it might be, but competitive it isn’t. Most of us live a local monopoly, cable-wise: it might be a Comcast city or a Time Warner town, but we don’t have that much choice with our providers. And those companies also, hugely, provide our broadband access. So what does 75% reach or a 15% market share really look like, to a city and the people in it? [More]
Thought Of Comcast Merger Scares AT&T Into Expanding Gigabit Fiber Service
By 3.7.14
Dallas is AT&T’s home turf. It’s cable market is also dominated by Time Warner Cable. But the thought of that cable/Internet business being swallowed up by Comcast if its merger with TWC goes through was apparently enough to get AT&T to decide to roll out gigabit fiber service to the Texas town. [More]
Even Comcast Employees Are Sharing “Comcast Doesn’t Give A F&#k” Video
By 3.6.14
You probably remember last week’s “Comcast Doesn’t Give a F##k” video. And though it might seem like those who work for Comcast exist inside an impermeable sphere through which no criticism shall pass, that is far from the truth. [More]
Franken: Comcast’s Previous Behavior Doesn’t Bode Well For Time Warner Cable Deal
By 3.3.14
When Comcast finally goes before lawmakers and regulators to make its case for a merger with Time Warner Cable, it will likely promise a pile of concessions and policy changes in order to paint a rosier picture of the future. But Senator Al Franken of Minnesota is looking to the past, pointing out concerns with the cable company’s spotty track record. [More]
Everyone At The FCC & DOJ Should Be Forced To Watch This “Comcast Doesn’t Give A F#!k” Video
By 2.28.14
In the debate over whether or not to approve the merger between Comcast and Time Warner Cable, there has been a lot of in-depth discussion of market share, divestments, fiber competition, and all sorts of other things the average cable subscriber doesn’t concern herself with because she has better things to do. What’s at risk of being overlooked is that Comcast is just a horrible company that really doesn’t care about its many millions of customers who have no other choice. [More]
The Future Will Not be Televised: Comcast’s Merger Plans are All About Broadband
By 2.27.14
Comcast and Time Warner Cable are cable companies: they run their wires to little boxes in our living rooms so we can watch Mad Men and Game of Thrones. But even though roughly 100 million Americans subscribe to pay TV, that’s not what the merger between the two companies is about. The future of entertainment is online, and that access is what’s really at stake in the proposed merger deal. [More]
Uncle Sam, Pre-Marital Counselor: The Approval Process Ahead For Comcast And TWC
By 2.25.14
The proposed merger of Comcast and Time Warner Cable, as it currently stands, looks like it could be a good move for the businesses and a bad move for consumers. But right now it’s still just that: a proposed merger. In order for this corporate marriage to move forward, federal regulators first have to approve the union–and that’s where it gets tricky. [More]
Netflix Also Talking Deals With AT&T, Verizon
By 2.25.14
Following Sunday’s announcement that Netflix had agreed to start paying Comcast for a better, more direct connection to the cable company’s broadband network, both AT&T and Verizon said they are working on a similar deal with the streaming video service. [More]
Why Comcast Wants To Buy Time Warner Cable, And Why TWC Wants To Let Them
By 2.24.14
Commentary has been flying nonstop since Comcast announced its plan to buy Time Warner Cable. If the buyout goes through, there will be enormous repercussions in the TV and broadband industries, both for competitors and for consumers. Before the legal filings and federal approvals and consumer chaos all begin in March, though, it’s worth taking a step back to look at why this merger is being proposed, and why it’s happening now. [More]
Dish CEO: If Comcast Can Buy TWC, Then We Can Merge With DirecTV
By 2.24.14
As we mentioned last week, if regulators approve the pending marriage of Comcast and Time Warner Cable, it would put pressure on the nation’s two largest satellite operators to combine in order to compete. And while Dish co-founder and Chairman Charlie Ergen isn’t talking about a tie-up with DirecTV just yet, he is pointing out that it would be hypocritical for the Comcast deal to be approved and a satellite merger to be denied. [More]
Netflix Agrees To Pay Comcast To End Slowdown
By 2.23.14
For the last several months, Comcast Internet customers have complained about a drop in quality of the Netflix streams being delivered to their homes, and Netflix’s own data showed a massive decline in connection speeds starting in October. But today, the two companies announced they have reached a “mutually beneficial” agreement that will hopefully turn that trend around. [More]
Why DirecTV and Dish Customers Should Care About Time Warner Cable/Comcast Deal
By 2.21.14
While many cable subscribers around the country are dreading the impact that a merged Time Warner Cable and Comcast could have on pricing for TV and Internet service, some satellite customers have shrugged off the news. But a tie-up between the two largest terrestrial cable companies could have far-reaching consequences for all pay-TV subscribers. [More]
Real Competition From Google Or Window-Dressing For FCC? Time Warner Cable Improves Speeds In Austin
By 2.20.14
Here are two facts: Google Fiber is coming to Austin, and Time Warner Cable is being bought by Comcast. The question is: Which one of these two facts is the cause for TWC’s significantly ramped-up service in the Texas capital? [More]
Comcast Deal Means No Set-Top Box Netflix App For Time Warner Cable Customers
By 2.18.14
Time Warner Cable had reportedly been in talks with Netflix regarding a deal that would give TWC subscribers direct access to the streaming video service through their set-top cable boxes, rather than having to use a third party device like a gaming console. But that seems to have come to a crashing halt now that Comcast has agreed to buy TWC for $45 billion. [More]
