This is BAD MMMMKAY..... Comcast

[tafdom]

I've been following this for 6 months and NEVER thought it would happen. What happened to the governments monopoly rules?? Here is the best loophole clause "Most of the government conditions outlined Tuesday will remain in effect for seven years"

For Comcast customers this is BAD news. This is a must read for anybody that has a TV!! The 121 comments under the article says it ALL! Great read to further PISS me off.

Comcast wins FCC and Justice Department approval to take over NBC Universal

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Comcast-wi...set=&ccode=


WTF are they thinking? Not to mention I just got an unannounced increase in my bill today.Again AARRRRG BTW, the modem fee went up to $7.00 along with most everything.

The government on Tuesday cleared the way for Comcast Corp., the country's largest cable company, to take over NBC Universal in a deal certain to transform the entertainment industry landscape.

Comcast is buying a 51 percent stake in NBC Universal, home of the NBC television network, from General Electric Co. for $13.8 billion in cash and assets.
The Justice Department and five state attorneys general said Tuesday that they have reached a court settlement allowing the companies to proceed with their combination, subject to conditions intended to preserve competition among video providers. FN JOKE

Among other things, the government is requiring Comcast to make NBC programming available to competitors such as satellite and phone companies, as well as new Internet video services that could pose a threat to the company's core cable business. Officials want to guarantee that on line video services from companies such as Netflix Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Apple Inc. can get the movies and TV shows they need to grow -- and potentially offer a cheaper alternative to monthly cable subscriptions. Like THEY are gonna let THAT happen.

"This will ultimately mean higher cable and Internet bills, fewer independent voices in the media, and less freedom of choice for all American consumers," Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., said in a statement.

[Teck1337]

From what I remember, NBC owns large networks... What's the significance of that? ---Simple... It gives Comcast the ability to expand on what Satellite company's cannot do given their infrastructure... And that is Cable TV delivered to your home computer Via the internet... And not just any TV programming... NBC Programming which is a massive network.

At the end of the day, delivering more programming to peoples computers is cheaper, easier, and so on... ---Which is the future especially considering every game system these days and many TV's are capable of TV Programming through the internet.

Comcast already has the wired infrastructure to pull this off... They also have the infrastructure to significantly increase internet speeds.

Their competition is no where near being able to pull off any of this... Which is why Comcast has wanted NBC for years now. With NBC in their back pocket they can go the distance to implement all of this. --Which once they have I suspect they'll be able to compete seriously at an international level.


One last thing... People are seeing this as a bad thing... Well, it could be... But it gives Comcast the ability to subsidize costs by offering cheaper subscription options.

For example, they can add small 20 second banners (about 1/16th the size of the screen) to the bottom of the screen as advertising... IF they do it right, they'll specifically target Ad's with good deals in them. I.E., Let's say based off your web surfing habits it finds that you like working on Cars, you like cigars, and you like carving wood... Well, they could offer you an Ad for say 10% off your next order of cigars with x retailer.. Or a deal allowing you to buy 1qt of oil and get one free...


They could also offer subscription options that allow you to only watch normal TV programing on your computer, mobile devices, and specially enabled TV's or game consoles... A subscription like this would be less because it's cheaper to deliver content to.

They could offer a subscription that's the ultimate in badassness and has no commercials.

Maybe another subscription that allows you to specifically select what channels you want to be able to watch. I.E., I Watch maybe 5 channels throughout the year on TV... Nothing else. Maybe I could pay for JUST those 5 channels at maybe $0.99/ea.

Maybe another subscription that allows you to only watch "On Demand" content. Almost everything I watch is On Demand these days... I dont even use my DVR anymore.



Anyway... I think ya'll get the idea.

Your right though T... It could be bad... But on the other hand, here is a chance for Comcast to compete with company's that have been doing stuff like this in Asia for years. Company's that have gotten to the point where it's all so streamlined that prices have dropped and the amount of programing, and bandwidth, and internet speeds have all increased. --I knew someone who spent 3 years in Japan.. He paid about $15 USD per month for internet more than 20 times faster than mine... He also got TV programming included in that and had a massive number of channels.


I'm not saying we should expect Internet/TV programming that is WAY WAY better over night... But, Comcast can actually make something like that a reality in the next few years with this acquisition. ---Once they can do that, they can move to Europe and Asia and play with the big dogs.

[Jimmie the Mum]

This is interesting stuff for sure.

[Parkster]

Yeah .... why are my bosses selling sh!t off ...... I hope this does not interfere with me getting tickets when I come to NY

[wtfdic]

Interesting read. Thanks for sharing.

[Domniomaestro]

Ya know what makes this ironic is....the federal government went in and tore apart bell atlantic telephone company for being to large. And yet verizon, comcast, microsoft, and so on are all far bigger than bell atlantic ever was...So....where is the government tear apart these companies? And why arent they doing it?

[madurodave]

From what I remember, NBC owns large networks... What's the significance of that? ---Simple... It gives Comcast the ability to expand on what Satellite company's cannot do given their infrastructure... And that is Cable TV delivered to your home computer Via the internet... And not just any TV programming... NBC Programming which is a massive network.

At the end of the day, delivering more programming to peoples computers is cheaper, easier, and so on... ---Which is the future especially considering every game system these days and many TV's are capable of TV Programming through the internet.

Comcast already has the wired infrastructure to pull this off... They also have the infrastructure to significantly increase internet speeds.

Their competition is no where near being able to pull off any of this... Which is why Comcast has wanted NBC for years now. With NBC in their back pocket they can go the distance to implement all of this. --Which once they have I suspect they'll be able to compete seriously at an international level.


One last thing... People are seeing this as a bad thing... Well, it could be... But it gives Comcast the ability to subsidize costs by offering cheaper subscription options.

For example, they can add small 20 second banners (about 1/16th the size of the screen) to the bottom of the screen as advertising... IF they do it right, they'll specifically target Ad's with good deals in them. I.E., Let's say based off your web surfing habits it finds that you like working on Cars, you like cigars, and you like carving wood... Well, they could offer you an Ad for say 10% off your next order of cigars with x retailer.. Or a deal allowing you to buy 1qt of oil and get one free...


They could also offer subscription options that allow you to only watch normal TV programing on your computer, mobile devices, and specially enabled TV's or game consoles... A subscription like this would be less because it's cheaper to deliver content to.

They could offer a subscription that's the ultimate in badassness and has no commercials.

Maybe another subscription that allows you to specifically select what channels you want to be able to watch. I.E., I Watch maybe 5 channels throughout the year on TV... Nothing else. Maybe I could pay for JUST those 5 channels at maybe $0.99/ea.

Maybe another subscription that allows you to only watch "On Demand" content. Almost everything I watch is On Demand these days... I dont even use my DVR anymore.



Anyway... I think ya'll get the idea.

Your right though T... It could be bad... But on the other hand, here is a chance for Comcast to compete with company's that have been doing stuff like this in Asia for years. Company's that have gotten to the point where it's all so streamlined that prices have dropped and the amount of programing, and bandwidth, and internet speeds have all increased. --I knew someone who spent 3 years in Japan.. He paid about $15 USD per month for internet more than 20 times faster than mine... He also got TV programming included in that and had a massive number of channels.


I'm not saying we should expect Internet/TV programming that is WAY WAY better over night... But, Comcast can actually make something like that a reality in the next few years with this acquisition. ---Once they can do that, they can move to Europe and Asia and play with the big dogs.

excellent points. and a positive perspective.....

[BDM53]

Ya know what makes this ironic is....the federal government went in and tore apart bell atlantic telephone company for being to large. And yet verizon, comcast, microsoft, and so on are all far bigger than bell atlantic ever was...So....where is the government tear apart these companies? And why arent they doing it?

No doubt!!!

[Teck1337]

excellent points. and a positive perspective.....

Dont get me wrong... I still think we need to keep an eye on Comcast... But..

[tafdom]

Dustin I have so much respect for you and I HOPE you’re right BUT, there history sucks!

I’ve had cable since 1979 when it was $9.99 and now it’s $73 for the same I got then. I don’t know what else has gone up that much other that gas. Lets not forget the Internet for a WHOPPING $59.90 and that’s a disgrace. That’s great about Japan but we aren’t there. They already offer speed more than that but the cost is blinding. 50 mbps is $190 a month and 190mbps is only $370. Lucky I’m getting 50 just from changing my modem. LOL

If you had clicked the link you would have seen this, NBC Universal owns the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks; 26 local TV stations; popular cable channels including CNBC, Bravo and Oxygen; the Universal Pictures movie studio and theme parks; and a roughly 30 stake in Hulu.com, which distributes NBC and other broadcast programming online.

Cable TV is already delivering to our PCs and phones. Comcast is competing with Netflix and has Xfinity that costs 30 FRICKIN dollars a month when Netflix is only 9.99. They are gonna STOMP out Netflix and there price will go to the moon. There stock was already hit today. Comcast wishes there stock was $193 instead of 23. LOL There are MANY sites that you can watch any TV episode ever made and movies.
I’m sure there panties are wet thinking an international level but it will be at OUR cost. As far as Comcast having the ability to subsidize costs by offering cheaper subscription options. LOL Cheaper is NOT what they do. Look at the history. The LAST GD thing I want is to have a FING banner on my TV as that’s already happening and I change the station. TV Pop-ups when we already have to deal with it on the damn net! BOY, I hope your wrong on that one.

You say they could offer a subscription that's the ultimate in badassness and has no commercials, and another subscription that allows you to specifically select what channels you want to be able to watch. They already do that! With the HBO type premiums that cost $14.00 and all the tiers and packages they have. That’s what they do is subscriptions for everything. If you had all the services your bill would be over $600. It’s like going to Taco bell for a .69 taco and your bill is $9.00. WTF! Again with Taco Bell. Comcast knows exactley what they are doing like the Bell. They know EVERY item sold in every market down to a cup of water. When Taco bell raises prices, they take the top 5 items used and raise them from 2 to 4 cents. Comcsat knows what channels are watched the most and move them to the next tier so you have to upgrade to see your fav station. I've seen it time and time again.

You don’t even use your DVR anymore. I’ve never had one and can always find something to watch on TV or my PC. If I ever get a big screen TV and hook my PC to it, I’ll be in heaven and watch anything I or anybody would ever want to see.

Not to mention the phone I would never have because of the down time and problems they have. My land line has been down 1 time in 25 years because of a lightening strike and they were out that day. Also I don’t care that every call I have on the cable phone is recorded and stored forever.

AOL would probable work for me since I’m NOT a gamer and just surf like many still do. Finally, in this controversial decision of the net-neutrality laws that prevent companies from actively managing Internet traffic appear to have been dropped here and THAT’S just wrong! The provision lets Comcast police itself in this area for seven years is a FING joke! As 32 year cable and internet subscriber, I have serious doubts about Comcast's willingness to police itself and be fair. Just look at there past of being unethical. How many court cases have been filed because they blocked channels from cities and states they served because they raised rates too much and the market just said NO.

I sure hope you’re right.

p.s. When cable came out they boasted of TV with NO comercials, WTF happened to that? LOL