OT: Comcast set to buy Time Warner Cable - is there any way this makes it through the courts?
In an industry that's already lacking in competition, Comcast (the leading cable provider in America) and Time Warner (the #2 cable provider) have agreed on a deal that would see Comcast buy out Time Warner's stock (LINK).
Comcast Corp. agreed to buy Time Warner Cable for about $45.2 billion in stock, in a deal that would combine the nation's two biggest cable operators.
How in the world does this make it past the FCC and Justice Department though? Comcast thinks they will...
Comcast is prepared to divest three million subscribers, the people said. Those divestitures will keep its ownership of the pay TV market below 30%
...but the Justice Department recently shot down an attempt by AT&T to acquire T-Mobile, because it would have reduced competition in the mobile network industry too much.
My initial reaction to this was a negative one. I use Time Warner internet, and my first thought was "what will prevent Comcast from jacking up their prices once this goes through"...but then I realized, there's really nothing preventing Time Warner from jacking up their prices right now. There really isn't any competition as it is:
Comcast hopes to convince regulators that because cable companies don't compete, their deal should go through.
I still don't see what good is in this for us, the consumers. It will be interesting to see how this shakes out though.
February 13th, 2014 at 11:53 AM ^
While you are correct in that the regional coverage of the 2 companies doesnt overlap with regards to cable...that's not what this merger is about. This is 100% about internet and net neutrality.
The cable industry is coming off one of it's worst years in...god who knows how long. Every provider is losing subscribers by the hundreds of thousands as customers flock to Netflix/Hulu/Aereo. So while you may not like the merger and cable pricing...what if you just want to go to full time streaming? Great! Just sign up for our internet offerings - all with either built in broadband data caps or throttling to make those video streams ever so laggy! (I believe companies like Verizon and Comcast already do this) Allowing one super company to control what content we view as well as how we view it and the quality with which we view it at is just...I mean...lol.
Frustrating customers to the point of jumping ship won't matter to TWComcast, because they'll own the ocean too.
February 13th, 2014 at 12:51 PM ^
I guess my point is that there's really nothing stopping Comcast or TWC from doing all of that right now. The merger/takeover will put them in a better bargaining position when they're trying to squeeze money out of Netflix and Google for better bandwidth treatment, but from the consumer perspective it doesn't change much.
Comcast currently has just as much of a stranglehold over its internet-only customers as they will if/when this merger goes through. If they wanted to implement bandwidth caps and block content and all sorts of other terrible things, they could start doing it right now. This merger just takes two smaller regional monopolies and makes one larger regional monopoly. But all of the problems that come with a monopoly are present either way.
And I could be wrong on this, but in the wake of the federal net neutrality ruling I remember some analysts saying that Comcast was on something like a 3 year probationary period after purchasing NBC that would prevent them from violating net neutrality anyway. So maybe it's best that Comcast be as big as possible right now, since they're basically the only ISP that's actually beholden to net neutrality at the moment.
February 13th, 2014 at 10:36 AM ^
It's time for the public to take back control of things like access to television channels and the Internet. Make this country a hot spot and license stations that will be available at no charge (supported by advertising) on a network of cable infrastructure owned by the public.
TV was free and can be again, or at least a helluva lot cheaper. The Internet can be delivered at a lower cost by one public network. Call me a Commie, but if you think you will ever be better served by an outfit like TWC or Comcast you are a #$%^ing idiot.
February 13th, 2014 at 10:43 AM ^
But I think a better solution is closer to something we already have: the wireless coverage market. Now, not everyone likes their plan with AT&T or Verizon, but if you look at the price of wireless service over the past 10-15 years (very little change, maybe increasing a little) and the level of service offered with each plan (huge, monumental, unbelievable improvement) in that same span, it's impressive. Do the same comparison to cable companies and you'll see rates go up while service provided stays basically the same.
I guess the point here is that in quite a few markets, the best possible thing for consumers is just some good old-fashioned capitalist competition. The issue in the cable world is that there's no real competition for these companies, so they can just do whatever they want. End regional telecom monopolies!
February 13th, 2014 at 2:40 PM ^
No need to call yourself a commie. Let's just call it a cable cooperative. A nice little co-op that allows us to avoid dastardly entities like TWC and Comcast. I'm onboard.
I just want a cheaper alternative to watch my sports. Without sports, I would be off the cable/satellite TV bandwagon in a heartbeat.
February 13th, 2014 at 3:25 PM ^
Ditto. I'd be a cord-cutter, but the fact is the "providers," through television and not the Internet, remain the best way to get sports. Until I can get the exact same HD programming off the Internet and onto my big screen, and I don't just mean whatever ESPN3 provides, but the whole laundry list from ESPN to NBC to CBS to local Fox stuff to CBS College Sports ... (you get the picture) I'll bend over for the cable company.
I'd like to think that "a la carte pricing is the future!" as tends to be the dominant theme, and I could then pay less for cable, but if that ever happens I suspect the pricing will be such that I end up paying the same anyway.
February 13th, 2014 at 10:41 AM ^
February 13th, 2014 at 10:47 AM ^
I use T-Mobile and Comcast.
T-Mobile has the worst coverage imaginable---but I stay with them, in part, because they are also fairly priced, but mostly because both their sales and tech departments are consistently nice and helpful. I have never had a single issue with T-Mobile.
I only have issues with Comcast. And those issues are only exacerbated by the unhelpful and (often) rude manner of both the sales and tech departments. I imagine almost every Comcast subscriber has found the monthly bill to be undecipherable (if you made any changes) and just wrong--shockingly, to Comcast's advantage. And, unlike virtually every other phone/online business, Comcast refuses to give you a confirmation number. So when you call back to fix an error, you are likely to hear--"I don't have a record of that", I don't say this anedotally, it happens almost every time.
Comcast already functions like a monopoly. I can't imagine the proposed merger doing anything but making it worse.
February 13th, 2014 at 11:09 AM ^
To be honest, it is a joke. They have so many different support deparments where one hand has no idea, nor any way to know, what the other is doing. If you want to have multiple departments, that's fine. But how can you not reference notes taken or account changes made from a prior call? Really? Is Comcast so incompetent and cheap that they can't invest in a unified crm for all support staff? Besides clear systematic issues, I hate to attack individual employees, but they are often undertrained, not only in their own products and services, but in basic customer service and human interaction skills. The turnover rate must be out of control on the support level there, leading me to believe the company is filled with incompetence and indifference not just towards their customers, but their own staff. Like I said, they are an utter joke and that is why I deal with in the inferior products of ATT uVerse to avoid giving a cent of my money to Comcast.
February 13th, 2014 at 10:55 AM ^
makes it through obamas courts and JD and FCC? brian roberts very publicly supports this admin and has funneled countless funds via fundraising, dinners, etc not to mention he prob lets o cheat whenever they tee it up together. if theres ever a 45 bil mega merger to go through its this one. i for one hope not though, i think comcasts service is bad enough as it is
February 13th, 2014 at 11:04 AM ^
nice trolling--I'm only surprised you didn't mention birth certificates
February 13th, 2014 at 11:12 AM ^
There's been a lot of pressure on DirecTV and Dish to merge given some satellite subscription losses recently. This will probably only increase the pressure. As a loyal DirecTV customer who really likes their customer service, I don't want to see that happen. On the other hand, thinking about Comcast and TWC merging two of the worst customer service organizations on the planet seems mildly comical. There's no where to go but up, right?
February 13th, 2014 at 12:56 PM ^
When the market concentrates, it can either help or kill others in the market. If DirecTV is directly competing, they just lost a competitor, and buyers have fewer choices. They may pick up customers who don't want Comcast or TW. On the other hand, if it gives the resulting Comcast/TWC entity additional market power, e.g., the ability to aggressively price or lock up exclusive agreements, then DirecTV could be screwed. I don't know the industry well enough to predict, but DirecTV may be happy. Stock went up a bit at the open but is relatively flat, so could be a bit of "meh" or folks not know where it will shake out.
February 13th, 2014 at 11:50 AM ^
February 13th, 2014 at 12:15 PM ^
February 13th, 2014 at 2:33 PM ^
I have DirecTV and my parents have Dish. I strongly prefer DirecTV. I think they have better interfaces (not everybody will agree) and outstanding customer service. There have been a number of times I've called to address something and had them just randomly offer $10 off my bill for the next 6 months. The web based apps they are starting to roll out (like many) are pretty useful and allow me to stream a lot even when I'm not at home. My only complaint is that I do occasionally lose signal during heavy storms (or when snow accumulates on my dish).
February 13th, 2014 at 2:46 PM ^
I've had both Dish and DirecTV. I have liked DirecTV much better than Dish, and that doesn't even take into account the NFL Sunday Ticket issue. Dish, though, was still far better than cable. FWIW, I've had numerous DVR issues with both satellite providers.
The only reason I have satellite is sports. I would love to drop everything and go to internet-based, a la carte programming. Sigh.
February 13th, 2014 at 5:24 PM ^
February 13th, 2014 at 12:01 PM ^
Comcast fucks you in the ass and doesn't even have the goddamn common courtesy to give you a reacharound.
February 13th, 2014 at 12:06 PM ^
keeping Charter internet, have Roku's, Apple Tv's, and the account name and password of a friend who uses Xfinity (comcast) to tap ESPN when necessary. I had it with Charter some time ago, and Comcast was actually nailed by the feds in years past for throttling bandwidth illegally. It would be great to see a mass of consumers cut the cord to send a message. Unfortunately, ESPN has so much good content, and BTN has alot of necessary content, it makes cutting the cord quite difficult for many.
February 13th, 2014 at 12:07 PM ^
The first thing I thought of when I saw this was the cable company guy from south park. ''Oh you want to switch to a different cable company? Oh that's right we're the only one in town.''
February 13th, 2014 at 12:55 PM ^
So they destroyed Net Neutrality which means bottlenecking sites like Netflix and now this? LOL
February 13th, 2014 at 1:01 PM ^
I have Internet through a Time Warner subsidiary. Now I'm back to paying Comcast filthy lucre unless I want to get in bed with AT&T. Fantastico.
February 13th, 2014 at 1:51 PM ^
Worth reading Here of the calls between Comcast and TWC prior to the merger.
February 13th, 2014 at 2:08 PM ^
It's amazing what we'll tolerate in this country. Technology has long passed the point where we could get much better phone, internet, and tv service than we get now, for far lower prices. Look around the globe if you don't believe me. Ask someone from Japan or South Korea or Sweden how these services compare to what they've got back home. They'll tell you it's like taking a time machine 10 or 15 years into the past. And our bills are much bigger than theirs.
There are two different potential solutions to this issue, depending on your political preference: Competition or regulation. But choosing neither and handing the big media companies unlimited ability to gouge us, giving us less for more, obsolete technology, shitty customer service, and ever increasing expenses.... it's insane and infuriating.
February 13th, 2014 at 3:24 PM ^
February 13th, 2014 at 5:32 PM ^
February 13th, 2014 at 6:58 PM ^