Tag Archives: cmcsa

Obama Backs Set-Top TV Change; Critics Say It’s Too Google-Friendly

Phone and cable TV companies slammed the White House after President Obama signaled his support for a regulatory proposal to open up the set-top box market to more competition, a move that critics say is too friendly for companies such as  Alphabet ’s ( GOOGL ) Google and  Apple ( AAPL ), benefiting them at the expense of pay-TV providers. AT&T ( T ), Comcast ( CMCSA ) and other pay-TV players have opposed the proposal. Tom Wheeler, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, says he plans to make it easier for consumers to switch from pay-TV companies’ set-top boxes leased monthly to new devices sold on a retail basis by consumer electronics or Internet companies. “Instead of spending nearly $1,000 over four years to lease a set of behind-the-times boxes, American families will have options to own a device for much less money that will integrate everything they want,” said the White House Council of Economic Advisers in a blog post . Obama is expected to file comments with the FCC supporting Wheeler’s proposal. “The Google proposal the White House endorsed today will box consumers into yesterday’s technology and impede the innovation consumers so desperately want,” said the Future of TV Coalition, a lobbying group formed by cable TV companies, programmers and others. The FCC has three Democratic and two Republican members. Walter McCormick, president of the USTelecom industry trade group, said in a statement: “The legitimacy of this rule-making proceeding has now been irreparably compromised.” Potential new suppliers such as Apple ,  Google or Amazon.com ( AMZN ) would likely provide their own programming guide to consumers, analysts say. One worry for pay-TV firms is losing the ability to collect viewership data, the key for targeted advertising . Google, critics say, aims to swap its own advertising for the local ads sold by cable TV companies. Under the new set-top rules, the FCC says that only pay-TV subscribers will gain access to programming, and that copyright protections will be preserved. The FCC could clear a path for Apple, which reportedly shelved plans for an Internet video service after negotiations with programmers stalled.

Cablevision-Altice, Charter-TWC Mergers Seen Advancing

Cablevision Systems ( CVC ) stock jumped Friday on a report that New York City will not block its acquisition by Europe’s Altice Group. In New York, Altice would compete against  Verizon Communications ( VZ ) and its FiOS services. Verizon said earlier this week it plans to expand FiOS services to Boston. Cablevision stock was up more than 2%, near 33.70, in morning trading in the stock market today , breaking out of a flat base at 33.45 buy point. Altice had been under scrutiny because of its debt. New York City, however, determined that former Mayor Michael Bloomberg gave away its authority in cable mergers to the state, the New York Post said in a report. Meanwhile, Charter Communications ( CHTR ) is awaiting the Federal Communications Commission’s approval for its acquisition of Time Warner Cable ( TWC ). An administrative law judge in California on Tuesday recommended that the Charter-TWC deal be approved with conditions, clearing a hurdle. The FCC thwarted Comcast ’s ( CMCSA ) proposed purchase of TWC in early 2015. If both the Charter-TWC and Altice-Cablevision deals go through, cable TV firms are likely to explore asset swaps of cable systems in different markets, a Barclays analyst has speculated. Comcast could be involved, says Barclays. Charter also plans to buy privately held Bright House Networks. Altice in May acquired a 70% stake in Midwest-based Suddenlink Communications. Altice agreed to pay about $10 billion, or $34.90 per share, for Cablevision, including $3 billion in cash.

Drone Racing Goes Mainstream With ESPN TV And Streaming Deal

Loading the player… Drone racing is now going mainstream, with ESPN agreeing to a multiyear distribution deal with the International Drone Racing Association on Wednesday. The first event that the “worldwide leader in sports” will showcase is the U.S. National Drone Racing Championship this August in New York. Some say the sport is poised to become the next Nascar or Formula 1, with the same high-speed rush and potential for corporate sponsorships. The only difference is the driver, or pilot, is controlling the exhilarating experience through goggles displaying live video from the point-of-view of the drone. The IDRA says drone racing is seeing an “unprecedented rise in popularity,” and ESPN says the fans are “a growing and passionate audience.” IBD attended a drone racing event earlier this year to find out firsthand what the quadcopter sport is all about. “It’s like video games on steroids,” said a pilot at the event, who goes by the nickname “Bapu.” The deal includes live streaming on ESPN3 and follow-up one-hour specials of the events on an ESPN network. The pact comes as the Walt Disney ( DIS )-owned sports network is looking for new audiences as it loses subscribers at a concerning pace, alongside the rise of video-streaming services. ESPN has also experimented with broadcasting video-game championship events to get more viewers. Though ESPN seems to be struggling, live sports content has not yet been tackled by Netflix ( NFLX ) or  Amazon ( AMZN ) Video — or by Hulu, which is co-owned by Disney, 21st Century Fox ( FOXA ) and Comcast ( CMCSA ). Disney shares rose 2.2% on the stock market today . Netflix climbed 2.5%, Amazon.com 1.9%, Fox 1.7% and Comcast 0.4%.