The approved merger of Comcast and NBC Universal has all sorts of implications for the entertainment business. For those of you that use Netflix on your consoles, this could mean bye bye to all NBC Universal content. Senator Al Franken believes that’s the case. Check out this bit from Ars Technica:
When it comes to the Comcast merger, Franken was even more vocal. “As you probably know, I hate this merger,” he told the group. Not only will it raise prices on TV subscriptions, it will give the combined entity incredible power to stifle competition from online sources like Netflix.
“I’m hearing that Comcast is already preparing to pull NBC Universal’s programming from Netflix when it’s next up for review,” Franken said. The cable industry is worried about the threat from cheaper options like Netflix; “they aren’t stupid and they want to shut it down.”
Allowing mega-powers to merge is rarely a good thing for consumers. This looks like another case of lobbying money trumping what’s good for the consumer. In the immortal words of Han Solo, I have a bad feeling about this.
What do you think of the Comcast/NBC merger? Do you think it will impact your entertainment experiences? Is it Comcastic?
It is never a good thing for a content carrier and content delivery service to be under the same umbrella. I dislike the merger. I'm all for a business being able to make money but broadband is as much of a utility as electricity is now. Comcast Internet service should have been spun off while the Cable and NBC sides could merge.
I see this as different than AOL/Time Warner. AOL didn't own a significant infrastructure. The Level3 disagreements I feel are a large foreshadowing of things to come.
Internt hookup : $50
Request netflix/youtube: $15 per month extra
Streaming video not comcast: poor quality
Streaming video from comcast : low buffer HD
Netflix/Google pays for bandwidth: $$$$
Because they are successful and many consumers want their services Comcast puts up a tollbooth:$$$
Makes you wonder why you pay for a data connection anyway right?
I feel like this is a similar problem with the auto/oil industries. The bigger corporations fear things like Netflix or extremely fuel efficient cars so they do whatever they can to keep the consumer from those things. In America we talk about how great it would be to have really fuel efficient cars, when I used to talk to my friend from Sweden he would mention how they already had really fuel efficient cars in Europe. The reason they don't come to the US is because people make too much money off of fuel inefficient cars. Same comparison with people wanting Netflix to host their content and have more users than they already do, but it does not benefit the cable and standard tv networks so they want to stop the consumer from being able to have a useful digital streaming content provider.
This is probably the first time I have ever agreed with Al Franken, but I think he is right here. This just spells trouble for the consumer.
Stuart Smalley FTW!
I don't know why, but I never realized that!!! Pure WIN
I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and gosh darn it, people like me.
That Michael Jordan skit with him was the funniest thing ever.
-M