Tag Archives: cmcsa

AT&T, T-Mobile Usual Suspects In FCC Auction, But Mysteries Remain

Federal regulators say 104 companies — including, as expected,  AT&T ( T ), Verizon Communications ( VZ ) and T-Mobile US ( TMUS ) — have applied to bid on airwaves owned by TV broadcasters, but analysts are still tempering expectations for the auction. While the Federal Communications Commission late Friday released the list of applicants, it was still unclear just which telecom companies are tied to some of the 104 bidding entities. The FCC is expected to release a more detailed list soon. “The more interesting takeaways will evolve as we learn more about the underlying ownership of the bidding entities,” said Michael Rollins, a Citigroup analyst, in a research report. “Initial applicant lists for FCC auctions can be a bit difficult to decipher since many bidders will submit applications through subsidiaries with different names,” Goldman Sachs analyst Brett Feldman wrote in a report. The FCC plans to begin the “Broadcast Incentive Auction” on March 29. The auction, which could last five to six months, will free up an estimated 60 to 80 megahertz of prime, low-frequency spectrum for wireless services. Based on public statements, analysts expect Comcast ( CMCSA ) and Dish Network ( DISH ) to be among the bidders. Cable firm Charter Communications ( CHTR ) is not among the 104 listed companies, but John Malone-controlled Liberty Global ( LBTYA ) is included. Despite speculation that  Sprint ( S )-owner SoftBank ( SFBTY ) could take part in the auction, there’s no sign of the Japanese telecom in initial filings. In a report published on Monday, Goldman Sachs estimated phone and cable TV companies may spend only $21 billion in the auction, though other bidders could raise auction proceeds as high as $30 billion. Alphabet ’s ( GOOGL ) Google has ruled itself out, and no Internet companies are in the 104 public applicants, though ties to some bidding entities might exist. A Bloomberg survey has estimated the auction will raise only $33 billion, much less than the $60 billion figure floated by some observers in mid-2015. Citigroup estimates bids could reach $43 billion, however, in the neighborhood of 2015’s “AWS-3” auction, which had 80 listed eligible bidders.

How Will We Watch TV Next, And Will Apple Or Comcast Rule It?

Apple ( AAPL ) has the future of TV all wrong, says a Barclays analyst who follows the cable TV industry and who’s upbeat on Comcast ’s ( CMCSA ) X1 service platform. Apple, Alphabet ‘s ( GOOGL ) Google, Comcast and others are vying to be the gateway to entertainment, says Kannan Venkateshwar, a Barclays analyst, in the report. He expects a battle to unfold as both pay-TV companies and technology rivals aim to be the “aggregator of aggregators,” the one-stop shop consumers go to for all forms of content. Apple rolled out its fourth-generation TV hardware in late 2015, but it’s been stymied in content talks with media giants and has shelved plans, at least temporarily, for a web-based TV service. “According to Apple, television will become a collection of applications. We believe the world is likely to move in a different direction, with an aggregator of aggregators, which then directs traffic to all other apps,” Venkateshwar wrote in the report. “In our opinion, those that control the ‘last mile’ and the relationship with the consumer, like Comcast, are in a much better position to be the aggregator than technology platforms like Amazon ( AMZN ), Google or Apple.” In September 2015, Apple introduced new TV hardware, including a Siri-controlled remote control, and added an app store to the platform. “We believe the future of television is apps,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook. Pay-TV companies, though, may be poised to build up relationships with media and entertainment companies, speculates Venkateshwar. “Companies like Comcast are able to aggregate every stream of content used by a consumer (TV, DVR, video-on-demand, gaming, etc.) while technology platforms like Apple can only aggregate subscription VOD content,” he said. “While it may be difficult for companies like Comcast to compete with the likes of Apple on the metric of user experience, we think the resources being put behind the vision at present seem to be moving in the right direction, with the evolution of the X1 platform being a prime data point.” Comcast expects half of its 22 million video subscribers to be using X1 set-top boxes by the end of 2016. While X1 currently does not support a Netflix ( NFLX ) app, under Venkateshwar’s vision it would have to. The X1 entertainment platform provides access to live broadcast, on-demand video and DVR-stored content. In November, Comcast partnered with 30 broadcast and cable networks to bring short-form Web clips to X1 set-tops as part of its video-on-demand (VOD) lineup. IBD 50 company Alphabet gets a best-possible Composite Rating of 99 from IBD, looking at earnings growth, stock performance and a raft of other measures. Comcast has an 88, Amazon a 68 and Apple a 66. Image provided by Shutterstock .

Comcast, AT&T Not Always To Blame For Millennial Buffer Rage

Many millennials suffer from video buffer rage more frequently than road rage, says a survey by IneoQuest, a provider of quality monitoring and assurance services for Internet video companies. Fifty-one percent of the 1,000 consumers surveyed who watch streaming video have experienced “a state of uncontrollable fury or violent anger”  as a result of buffering problems, says IneoQuest. And more than one-third of those surveyed under age 35 have had meltdowns when video streaming stops. But the next time your Netflix ( NFLX ) movie or YouTube video streams inconsistently, don’t automatically  blame your Internet service provider such as Comcast ( CMCSA ), AT&T ( T ) or Verizon Communications ( VZ ), says Kurt Michel, senior marketing director at Mansfield, Mass.-based IneoQuest. The problem could be with the content itself and the server that is providing it;  the mobile device or PC; or there could be an issue with the CDN (content delivery network) that Internet video companies such as Netflix or Hulu use. CDN providers include Akamai Technologies ( AKAM ), Limelight Networks ( LLNW ) and Level 3 Communications ( LVLT ). According to IneoQuest’s study, in many cases viewers were not able to begin playing streaming content at all, with 27% of respondents claiming that buffering most often occurs before a video starts and 34% experiencing buffering in the first 15 seconds.  More than 40% of consumers say they will wait only 10 seconds or less before clicking out of a buffering video. Nearly a quarter of all consumers surveyed said buffering during live sporting events causes the most rage.