Related Headlines

Comcast Ads During NFL Game Draw Flags

Lindsy Embree — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 11:35:57 -0500

Full article: Politico
Brooks Boliek
Are you ready for some … cable commercials? Comcast customers watching the New York Giants eventually defeat the San Francisco 49ers had their viewing pleasure rudely interrupted with a couple of accidental commercials for the cable operator's Xfinity service. The sudden random appearance of the commercials or fragments of the commercials as plays were being run angered viewers who lit up social networks after the glitch.

How Uncle Sam Invented Television

Stevie Converse — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 10:30:20 -0500

Full article: Ars Technica
Matthew Lasar
TV broadcasters can sit on their licenses and discuss "current marketplace realities" with the FCC because, seventy years ago, Capitol Hill created that marketplace for them. The government literally created the business model and framework in which broadcast TV flourished. And now, regulators face the challenge of uninventing that framework.

Forget Getting Netflix or Hulu Plus on TiVo-Made Cable DVRs

Stevie Converse — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 09:26:50 -0500

Full article: Ars Technica
Chris Foresman
TiVo's Premiere-series DVRs offer access to Netflix's Watch Instantly streaming service, and the company has announced that Hulu Plus support is coming soon. But if you get your TiVo Premiere from your cable company, you won't be able to access either service. Rightsholders are using licensing terms to prevent these services from directly competing with paid video-on-demand from your cable provider.

NCTA Says FCC Terrestrial Exemption Decision Was Arbitrary, Capricious

Stevie Converse — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 12:42:58 -0500

Full article: Multichannel News
John Eggerton
The cable industry -- notably the Cablevision and National Cable & Telecommunications Association -- continues to fight the FCC's order closing the terrestrial exemption for competitor's access to an operator's co-owned programming.

Cable Penetration Hits 21-Year Low

Stevie Converse — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 10:03:59 -0500

Full article: TV Newscheck
According to Nielsen NTI data, cable penetration represented 60.7 percent of households in November, down from 61.7 percent in November 2009, while national alternate delivery system penetration reached 30.5 percent of television households last month, an all-time high that represents 33.7 percent of subscription television customers (those paying for video delivery), another all-time high.

Time Warner Cable's Gift to Itself: More of Your Money

Stevie Converse — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 09:23:08 -0500

Full article: Los Angeles Times
David Lazarus
There are things you can count on every year — the changing of the seasons, the happy faces of kids during the holidays -- and higher cable rates. Time Warner Cable is notifying Southern California customers that their cable bills are about to go up yet again, with higher charges for pretty much everything the company offers, from TV to Internet access.

Morgan Stanley Report on Broadband Pricing Wildly Overblown

Stevie Converse — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 08:05:01 -0400

Full article: Minyanville
Justin Rohrlich
A new report from Morgan Stanley that warns of skyrocketing cable prices as viewers migrate to the Internet may be overblown. Internet service is very profitable for cable providers, and they can cut programming costs so they will only have to raise the fees slightly. Plus, cable Internet services use just a few 'channels.' So while about a quarter of a cable operators' revenue comes from selling Internet access, they are now only allocate around 3 percent of their networks' total capacity to provide that access.

Is Netflix at the Mercy of Big Cable?

Stevie Converse — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 07:57:41 -0400

Full article: GigaOM
Ryan Lawler
Netflix relies on others' broadband networks for delivery of its online streaming service. Its competition with the pay TV operators that run those networks could put Netflix at the mercy of the very ISPs it needs to deliver its streams.

Sister Spat

Stevie Converse — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 09:08:06 -0400

Full article: Susan Crawford Blog
Susan Crawford
Comcast wants to make sure that it has crushing leverage in dealing with the media conglomerates, so it’s buying NBCU. It will have the upper hand in almost every battle, and will be able to beat back ESPN’s high prices. But the larger, systemic problem in the retransmission game is that the entire system serves everyone except competition and lower prices.

DISH to File Complaint over Comcast Philly Sports Blockade

Stevie Converse — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:20:09 -0400

Full article: Broadband Reports
Karl Bode
Last January the FCC issued an order designed to put an end to cable operators preventing competitors from accessing local sports channels owned by the cable company. DISH Network announced this week that it was filing a complaint about Comcast with the FCC, claiming the cable operator refused to negotiate access to the channel in "good faith."

Cable's Move into Mobile: Calculated and Deliberate

Stevie Converse — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 08:13:02 -0400

Full article: Broadband Breakfast
Leonard Grace
Starting with their investment in Clearwire in 2008, companies like Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House have upped their anti in wireless and mobile strategies. This is not an idle investment by the cable community; it is a strategy to combat the increasing competition in Northeast markets by telecom providers like Verizon and AT&T with Quad-Play capabilities.

Comcast-NBC Merger Conditions Eyed

Stevie Converse — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 09:13:00 -0400

Full article: Washington Post
Cecilia Kang
As the proposed merger of Comcast and NBC Universal again goes under the microscope of lawmakers at a field hearing, an industry analyst outlined the conditions she believes will be the most relevant for regulators reviewing the deal.

Comcast Cable, Internet Rates Rising

Stevie Converse — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 09:33:55 -0400

Full article: Recordnet.com
Reed Fuji
For the second time in less than 10 months, Comcast customers in San Joaquin County face price increases for cable television service and a boost in charges for a cable Internet connection. Other Northern California areas served by the cable giant will see prices change Aug. 1.

Comcast to Raise Cable TV Rates 3.8 Percent

Stevie Converse — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 12:39:07 -0400

Full article: Sacramento Bee
Darrell Smith
Comcast will raise its cable TV rates in the Sacramento area by nearly 4 percent starting Aug. 1, citing new technology and business costs.

How TWC Is 'Segmenting' Customers to Sell More Services

Stevie Converse — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 08:55:38 -0400

Full article: Multichannel News
Mike Farrell
Why is the second-largest cable operator -- with double-digit cash-flow growth, consistent results and a healthy stock -- overhauling its core strategy? Today, Time Warner Cable is knee-deep in an initiative to drive future growth by slicing, dicing and hyper-analyzing its subscriber base like never before.

Broadband Availability to Expand

Stevie Converse — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 08:27:29 -0400

Full article: New York Times
Andrew Wyatt
The Obama administration is seeking to nearly double the wireless communications spectrum available for commercial use over the next 10 years, an effort that could greatly enhance the ability of consumers to send and receive video and data with smartphones and other hand-held devices. But some aspects could be opposed by television broadcast and cable companies.

After Digital Switch, Basic Broadcast TV Offers Cable Alternative

Stevie Converse — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 06:58:39 -0500

Full article: National Public Radio
Catherine Welch
Just before 2009's switch from analog to digital cable, TV viewers were inundated with commercials from cable companies, urging viewers to subscribe to cable in order to get a clear picture and plenty of channels. But for the price of an antenna, over-the-air television offers plenty of different programs.

Senator Asks NBC About Olympic Site Pay-TV Link

Stevie Converse — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 08:02:26 -0500

Full article: Reuters
Diane Bartz
Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) has written to NBC to express concern that some of its Internet coverage of the Winter Olympics is limited to pay television subscribers. Kohl said he fears the practice of locking up certain content only for pay-TV subscribers may be a preview of what is to come, particularly in the context of the proposed Comcast/NBC Universal merger.

Retransmission -- The Bloody Battle to Save Broadcast Television

Stevie Converse — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 11:11:36 -0500

Full article: Broadcasting & Cable
Melissa Grego
Broadcast television is fighting for its life, and one massive battle taking place now could define how the war may be won. The carriage agreements between Time Warner Cable and News Corp. for Fox-owned stations, cable networks and regional sports networks expire Dec. 31.

Sezmi: 'We're the JetBlue' of Multichannel Video

Stevie Converse — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:12:09 -0500

Full article: Multichannel News
Todd Spangler
Sezmi wants to deliver a more personalized and economical multichannel video alternative to cable TV, in the same way JetBlue successfully challenged the major incumbent airlines.