The FCC is currently mulling over whether to give its stamp of approval to two huge mergers — Comcast/Time Warner Cable and AT&T/DirecTV — and is intending to make information available to third parties about the deals that that these pay-TV giants make with broadcasters. But even though you and every other cable subscriber wants to know exactly how much Comcast pays for access to channels like ESPN, MTV, and the major networks, the broadcasters want that info kept under lock and key — and they’ve asked the court to stop it from possibly going public. [More]
murders and executions
Broadcasters Get Court To Stop Consumers From Seeing How Much Cable Companies Pay For Content
By 11.14.14
Hasbro Looking To Buy DreamWorks Animation Because There Aren’t Enough Toy Movies
By 11.13.14
For decades, Hasbro products — Transformers, G.I. Joe, My Little Pony, Jem & the Holograms — have been the subject of TV shows and movies, but now the toy company is reportedly looking to go even bigger with the possible acquisition of DreamWorks Animation. [More]
NYC Mayor Raises Concerns About Comcast/TWC Merger
By 11.4.14
While 52 other mayors from around the country were recently reminded that Comcast is an important contributor to election campaigns, Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York City has been busy warning the FCC that the pending merger of Comcast and Time Warner Cable is fraught with potential problems. [More]
NY Pols Want Free Broadband For Public Housing, WiFi For Parks If Comcast Deal Approved
By 10.31.14
Usually by this point in the review process of a mega-merger like the one pending between Comcast and Time Warner Cable, there are discussions about things the parties are willing to do or give up in order to make the deal more palatable to critics. But because Comcast and TWC proactively offered to spin off some 3 million customers, and because Comcast already made a bunch of promises and concessions when it acquired NBC back in 2010, there hasn’t been much chatter. But some folks in New York are making known their demands for signing off on the deal. [More]
Another City Wants To Stop Comcast From Taking Over Cable Service
By 10.16.14
Weeks after city leaders in Lexington, KY, made it clear that they are not pleased about the promise of being passed around like a hot potato from Time Warner Cable to Comcast to Charter, the City Council of Worcester, MA, is also laying out the unwelcome mat for Comcast. [More]
T-Mobile CEO “Sick And Tired” Of Takeover Talk
By 10.7.14
T-Mobile has long been considered a juicy, low-hanging magenta fruit that some bigger company could pick off and devour. But after years of being wooed by suitors from the Death Star, Japan, and France, T-Mobile CEO John Legere says it’s time to stop talking about his company being acquired by someone else. [More]
NFL Sunday Ticket To Remain A DirecTV Exclusive
By 10.2.14
Millions of football fans now have a reason to not ditch DirecTV. After months of negotiations, the satellite service has finally renewed its deal to be the exclusive carrier for NFL Sunday Ticket. [More]
Comcast CEO “Cautiously Optimistic” He Can Shove TWC Merger Down Regulators’ Throats
By 9.17.14
We’re still months away from the FCC and the Justice Dept. completing their reviews (and hopefully putting the brakes on) the merger between the nation’s two largest cable companies. And even though the initial questions being asked by regulators show that the deal is not inevitable, Comcast’s CEO is counting on being able to convince the folks in D.C. that this alliance isn’t entirely unholy. [More]
Microsoft Buys Minecraft Maker For $2.5 Billion
By 9.15.14
It’s official — Microsoft has decided it wants to play a lot of Minecraft, and it’s willing to pay $2.5 billion for the right to do so. The company announced today that it reached a deal to purchase Swedish Minecraft developer Mojang. [More]
AB InBev Getting Drunk On Idea Of Buying SABMiller For $122 Billion
By 9.15.14
It’s late at night and Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller are the only two beer companies left in the bar… mostly because these two have merged with everyone else in town. So what’s the harm in a couple of acquisition-tipsy beer biggies getting together? That’s why AB InBev has reportedly been texting its banking buddies for advice on hooking up with Miller. [More]
Discovery Not Afraid of Sharks Or Comcast; Comes Out Against Merger
By 9.8.14
We told you last week that even though the initial public commenting period for the Comcast/Time Warner Cable merger has ended, the FCC is still talking to various media companies — including Discovery, operator of seemingly countless cable channels — to get their insights on the deal. Now the details of Discovery’s anti-merger arguments are being made public. [More]
Dish & T-Mobile Spotted Canoodling In Corner Of Merger Meat Market
By 9.8.14
Maybe Dish and T-Mobile are just friends who had a little too much to drink one night. Maybe they were commiserating how they were still single while each of their failed merger partners are making plans for a future of little satellite-equipped Death Stars. Regardless of how they got to this place, Dish and T-Mobile are apparently in those early, giddy, everything’s rosy days of thinking about getting their merger on. [More]
Comcast: Approve TWC Merger Because Broadband Will Still Suck Just As Much
By 9.5.14
Yesterday, FCC Chair Tom Wheeler surprised a lot of people by publicly discussing the woeful state of broadband competition in the U.S. Some viewed his remarks as an indicator that the commission is leaning toward blocking the pending Comcast/Time Warner Cable merger, but the ever-optimistic (read: delusional) Comcast argue that Wheeler’s words actually support the deal. [More]
The Bastard Child Of Comcast/TWC Merger Gets A Name: GreatLand Connections
By 9.3.14
While plenty of us are still banging on the church window, trying to break up the impending nuptials of Comcast and Time Warner Cable, the couple, along with their “close friend” (ahem) Charter Communications, have already given a name to the company that will be spun off and left to fend for itself in the wild because there just isn’t enough room for everyone’s kids. That company, which will instantly become the fifth-largest cable operator in the U.S., will have the craptastic name of GreatLand Connections Inc. [More]
Media Companies Afraid To Leave Public Comments Privately Tell FCC Why The Comcast/TWC Merger Stinks
By 9.2.14
Plenty of big companies have left lengthy public comments explaining their opposition to Comcast buying Time Warner Cable. Still, though, not everyone who is afraid of the potential consequences of the merger is able to go air their grievances publicly. Media organizations that usually love announcing their opinions to anyone and everyone have been suspiciously silent on the matter, perhaps, as Sen. Al Franken suggested, due to fears of retaliation from their largest business partner. But just because those companies aren’t filing public comments doesn’t mean that they’re in love with the merger, and they may be telling a very different story behind closed doors. [More]
Initial Questions Offer Hope That FCC Isn’t Going Easy On Comcast/TWC Merger
By 8.22.14
While the FCC’s public comment period for the Comcast/Time Warner Cable merger remain open through Monday, the commission has already sent off its first round of questions to the companies involved. And judging by both the quantity and quality of the things being asked, it looks like the FCC isn’t ready to rubber-stamp the deal. [More]
52 Ill-Informed Mayors Agree: The Comcast/TWC Merger Is Greatest Thing Ever
By 8.22.14
The gleaming USB drive that is Comcast HQ towers above the rest of the skyline here in Philadelphia, and the company is set to build another gleaming spire as a monument to its greatness right across the street. Just a few blocks away from the nation’s largest cable and Internet provider sits Mayor Michael “Why do people always laugh at my last name?” Nutter, who recently rounded up a bunch of other mayors to tell the FCC how awesome Comcast’s merger with Time Warner Cable would be. Of course, missing from that list of mayors were the leaders of New York City and Los Angeles, the two cities that would be most affected by the deal. [More]
Former Comcast Employee Makes Best Argument Yet For Blocking Time Warner Cable Merger
By 8.19.14
Since Comcast announced it would be buying Time Warner Cable, we’ve brought you story after story highlighting the various reasons that the merger should be stopped. But for all the thousands of words, charts, graphs and maps we’ve used, none has summed up the reason for blocking the merger than a recent quote from a former Kabletown staffer. [More]
