Earlier today, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Charter Communications finally confirmed reports that the three would be playing swap-the-subscribers in an effort to make the unappetizing Comcast/TWC merger slightly less sickening. But while Comcast wants consumers and regulators to believe this sacrificial offering is about keeping the marketplace competitive, it’s really just an easy way for the players to rearrange their customers for better regional monopolies. [More]
murders and executions
Comcast Deal With Charter Isn’t About Improving Competition; It’s About Carving Up Marketplace
By 4.28.14
Comcast/TWC Reveal Plan To Hand Over 4 Million Customers To Charter
By 4.28.14
As expected, Comcast and Time Warner Cable confirmed this morning that, through a combination of customer swaps and spin-off, shed themselves of around 4 million customers who will land, at least in part, in the lap of Charter Communications. [More]
Franken: Media Companies Are Afraid To Speak Out Against Comcast
By 4.14.14
Minnesota Senator Al Franken has made no effort to hide his opposition to the pending merger of Comcast and Time Warner Cable. Now the actor/writer-turned-lawmaker is saying he wishes others would be more open about their feelings on the controversial deal. [More]
Feds Remind Facebook & WhatsApp To Respect User Privacy After They Get Married
By 4.10.14
The Federal Trade Commission is giving a bit of pre-marriage advice to Facebook and one of its many betrothed, messaging app WhatsApp, which said “I do” to Facebook’s $19 billion (with a “b”) proposal back in February. Given Facebook’s past transgressions, the FTC felt that maybe it was worth reminding the giddy-in-love couple that there are laws about what they can and can’t do with users’ data. [More]
Comcast To Senate: “Bigger Is A Good Thing”
By 4.9.14
This morning, executives from Comcast and Time Warner Cable attempted to make a case to the Senate Judiciary Committee for the proposed $45 billion merger of the two companies, and the skeptical panel of lawmakers wanted to know what benefits this combination of the country’s two largest cable/Internet providers would bring to anyone other than the companies’ shareholders and the TWC execs who will be given huge paychecks to leave the merged company. [More]
Could A Merger Between DirecTV And Dish Be On The Horizon?
By 3.28.14
Last month, in the wake of the news that Comcast would try to gobble up Time Warner Cable, billionaire Dish Network co-founder and Chairman Charlie Ergen asked a reasonable question: If the two biggest terrestrial cable companies could merge, why couldn’t the two largest satellite TV services? Now it looks like Ergen may once again be trying to make that marriage a reality. [More]
Sen. Franken Calls Comcast/Time Warner Cable Merger A “Terrible Deal For Consumers”
By 3.27.14
While Comcast has financial ties to numerous important members of the House and Senate, there are a few folks on Capitol Hill who have no problem speaking out against the cable company’s plan to expand its domination of the pay-TV and Internet business by acquiring Time Warner Cable and its millions of customers. Sen. Al Franken has already expressed concern about the merger, but yesterday he made his position on the matter very clear. [More]
TV Writers Come Out Against Comcast/Time Warner Cable Deal
By 3.26.14
Given that Comcast is already the nation’s largest cable and Internet provider and the owner of a broadcast TV network, multiple cable channels, numerous local TV stations, a major movie studio, some theme parks, and a partridge in a pear tree, you might assume that people who make their living selling scripts to Comcast-owned companies would be reluctant to bite the hand that feeds them. But last week, the Writer’s Guild of America asked the FCC to block Comcast’s pending $45 billion deal to buy Time Warner Cable. [More]
Time Warner Cable CEO Has 80 Million Reasons To Root For Comcast Merger
By 3.20.14
Imagine you’re two months into your dream job, the one you’ve been groomed to get for years. You’ve finally gotten the chance to right a ship that has been veering off course for too long and prove that you’re a real titan of industry. You’d probably hate to then find out that you’ll be out of this job within a year or so… that is until you’re told that you’ll get a $79.9 million payoff to soothe your pain. [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]
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]
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]
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]
Time Warner Cable Shareholder Sues To Block Comcast Merger
By 2.17.14
It’s not just consumers and advocacy groups that are worried about the pending sale of Time Warner Cable to Comcast for $45 billion. On Friday, a TWC shareholder has filed a lawsuit to block the merger, claiming that executives prioritized their own bank accounts over investors’ interests for a deal that will have a difficult time passing regulatory muster. [More]
Two Big Reasons The Comcast And Time Warner Cable Deal Is Bad For Consumers
By 2.14.14
Yesterday, Comcast and Time Warner Cable announced a $45 billion merger deal. Consumer advocacy groups (and consumers) were less than thrilled about Comcast’s big news, and ardently called on the FCC and the Justice Department to alter or prevent the buyout. [More]
