Ohio Basketball Topic
Topic: Comcast buying Time Warner
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cbarber357
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Posted: 2/12/2014 10:42 PM
http://www.cnbc.com/id/101412815
I wonder if this will have any effect on time warner cable sports channel? Maybe get the MAC on more screens or give it some better production value?
catfan28
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Posted: 2/12/2014 11:36 PM
Or go away all together like Sports Time Ohio...

Time will tell!
RSBobcat
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Posted: 2/12/2014 11:38 PM
Any bets on whatever it means will result in what we get is more, or if it will cost us less?

"Free market" enthusiasts responses especially invited.



 
Last Edited: 2/12/2014 11:39:17 PM by RSBobcat
BillyTheCat
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Posted: 2/13/2014 12:19 AM
RSBobcat wrote:expand_more
Any bets on whatever it means will result in what we get is more, or if it will cost us less?

"Free market" enthusiasts responses especially invited.
+1 no "free market" in this industry.
Pataskala
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Posted: 2/13/2014 7:04 AM
BillyTheCat wrote:expand_more
Any bets on whatever it means will result in what we get is more, or if it will cost us less?

"Free market" enthusiasts responses especially invited.


+1 no "free market" in this industry.


For cable subscribers, it will probably mean little.  Mergers usually mean duplicative jobs are eliminated to help the bottom line for investors but services generally are the same or maybe a bit worse.

The upside for the MAC is that Comcast is more sports oriented -- they have real sports channels in the northeast and Chicago -- and they own NBC, so the MAC might show up on NBCSC.
Robert Fox
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Posted: 2/13/2014 7:58 AM
RSBobcat wrote:expand_more
Any bets on whatever it means will result in what we get is more, or if it will cost us less?

"Free market" enthusiasts responses especially invited.



 


By deduction, does that make you anti free market?
Andrew Ruck
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Posted: 2/13/2014 8:16 AM
Comcast and TW have almost no overlap geographically, so I don't really think it will have an effect on pricing or much of anything, really.

But good golly this industry (specifically high speed internet moreso than the TV part) needs more options.  Only a handful of options are available depending on where you are located, and almost all options suck and are hated by their customers.  For something that the vast majority of households have and is an integral part of their lives, you would think the industry would be more competitive and appeasing to consumers.  If a new provider could come along and offer reliable solid internet for an affordable price, it would make a killing...Because most everyone I talk to is unhappy with their current ISP.
roar-room
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Posted: 2/13/2014 8:35 AM
As previously mentioned, they make these deals work with expense savings.

edit: Though the "additional opportunity for revenue synergies" sounds slightly foreboding.
 

Last Edited: 2/13/2014 8:40:11 AM by roar-room
mf279801
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Posted: 2/13/2014 9:27 AM
RSBobcat wrote:expand_more
Any bets on whatever it means will result in what we get is more, or if it will cost us less?

"Free market" enthusiasts responses especially invited.


Doesn't Cable TV still operate as a government enforced monopoly across most municipalities in the country? I don't really see how the free market has anything to do with this.

Anyone on here actually have the option of buying Time Warner OR Comcast at their current residence?
Ohio69
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Posted: 2/13/2014 10:18 AM
Noooooooooo !!!!!

Comcast sucks.  Go ask anyone with Comcast.  They hate 'em.  Uhg.

Man, I hope the Feds rejects this.

On the other hand, cable tv as we know it will be dead eventually anyway.....
Last Edited: 2/13/2014 10:18:56 AM by Ohio69
Deciduous Forest Cat
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Posted: 2/13/2014 11:33 AM
Ohio69 wrote:expand_more
Noooooooooo !!!!!

Comcast sucks.  Go ask anyone with Comcast.  They hate 'em.  Uhg.

Man, I hope the Feds rejects this.

On the other hand, cable tv as we know it will be dead eventually anyway.....


These are the #1 and #2 cable/ISP companies in the country, right? I highly doubt this goes through.
Pataskala
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Posted: 2/13/2014 12:05 PM
Deciduous Forest Cat wrote:expand_more
These are the #1 and #2 cable/ISP companies in the country, right? I highly doubt this goes through.


They're both so expansive with holdings in other areas (programming in particular) that there's a lot going against them, especially with the current Justice Dept.  But if they agree to divest some things, who knows....
JSF
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Posted: 2/13/2014 1:28 PM
Ohio69 wrote:expand_more
Comcast sucks.  Go ask anyone with Comcast.  They hate 'em.  Uhg.


I thought Time Warner was bad (grew up in Adelphia territory and always liked their service). Then I moved to Comcast territory and... holy crap. It's a nightmare. And they don't care because you have no other options.
OUcats82
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Posted: 2/13/2014 2:34 PM
Does this mean no more obnoxious Bill Cowher commercials? 
cbarber357
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Posted: 2/13/2014 3:16 PM
I've heard AT&T has been expanding their internet and cable service in southeast Ohio
OhioStunter
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Posted: 2/13/2014 7:35 PM
Deciduous Forest Cat wrote:expand_more
Noooooooooo !!!!!

Comcast sucks.  Go ask anyone with Comcast.  They hate 'em.  Uhg.

Man, I hope the Feds rejects this.

On the other hand, cable tv as we know it will be dead eventually anyway.....


These are the #1 and #2 cable/ISP companies in the country, right? I highly doubt this goes through.

I do too. But when you see ExxonMobile and UnitedContinental pass through the DOJ, you never know.

 
anorris
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Posted: 2/14/2014 11:56 PM
I actually had horrendous service from Time Warner in Ohio - on Comcast now in CT, and it's been painless and reliable for my nearly three years here. I think region (and probably population density) have as much effect on your service as anything (customer service notwithstanding - it seems putrid across areas and providers).

Just a note on Pataskala - Time Warner Cable is actually not wrapped up in the content business - they were spun out of Time Warner the content company a few years back. Comcast, obviously, has lots of content. As mentioned, they actually do have a broader sports presence, in Chigaco, Philly, and the Bay Area. I'm not sure this will have much impact on the MAC deal. The speed with which this type of transaction moves means that three year deal will likely be up before much significant rebranding or movement would happen there (assuming the deal goes through at all).

I completely agree with the idea that we desperately need more broadband competition, and nobody is doing much on any real scale. Verizon and AT&T both had promising fiber networks bringing real competition to cable, but both have stopped expanding those networks. AT&T adding areas now is effectively meaningless, as their high speed internet offerings in non-Uverse areas are simply not competitive with cable. As more and more services (voice and video both) are delivered over IP, the importance of competition in that space is extremely important.
anorris
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Posted: 2/15/2014 12:22 AM
To clarify on Time Warner Cable and content - the cable company was spun off, so Time Warner retained their broadcasting assets, like HBO and CNN. The cable company has recently gotten into the content business itself, primarily in sports - which is why you have the rather clumsy and specific Time Warner Cable SportsChannel nomenclature for the networks in Ohio, LA, and elsewhere.
JSF
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Posted: 2/15/2014 12:27 AM
Google needs to fast track their Fiber service.
anorris
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Posted: 2/15/2014 1:36 AM
JSF wrote:expand_more
Google needs to fast track their Fiber service.
I'd love that, I'm just not sure they really want to be in that business. I'd love to see them go all in on it, but they don't seem to have the inclination to do a major rollout. Honestly at this point I think advanced wireless technology might be the best thing going to eventually compete, but realistically that's probably a decade away at minimum for competitive home use.
Monroe Slavin
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Posted: 2/15/2014 1:42 AM
Content is still king.  For most of us, aren't sportscasts the driver?  That is, one can get pretty good content/viewing by leaving TimeWarner, Comcast, etc behind and going with Amazon or Netflix or other 'over the top.'  But the latter don't offer an avenue to ESPN and the like, right?
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Posted: 2/15/2014 9:52 AM
Cash is king! Whoever can buy the content (sports sports sports) can take on the cable companies. Getting the sports content on a streaming service a la netflix, hulu etc is the company/service that can take on these cable providers.

That said, until wireless or something becomes a reasonable alternative for high speed internet cutting the cord on cable is going to be hard to justify. The streaming services are basically good enough now if you aren't huge on tv... as long as you can get internet some other way than cable.

If a company does develop a fiber-optic network and can partner that with cash for content.. That'll be a money maker.
JSF
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Posted: 2/15/2014 1:40 PM
Monroe Slavin wrote:expand_more
That is, one can get pretty good content/viewing by leaving TimeWarner, Comcast, etc behind and going with Amazon or Netflix or other 'over the top.'


And how do you get to Amazon or Netflix without TWC or Comcast? I live in the country's fourth-biggest city and there is no viable alternative to Comcast Internet. And that doesn't even factor in the death of Net Neutrality and providers throttling down speed to certain sites like Netflix. That has already started to happen.
Monroe Slavin
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Posted: 2/15/2014 4:55 PM
JSF--You have to buy someone's internet feed.  But with Amazon or NetFlix and such you don't have to buy their TV service.   But you knew that and were, of course, just testing me.

So, triple play becomes single...no need for landline phone or TV service.


Jeff, would you rather be 1) a content owner/provider or 2) a tv or cable service provider?



 
Last Edited: 2/15/2014 4:56:48 PM by Monroe Slavin
JSF
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Posted: 2/16/2014 1:57 AM
Monroe Slavin wrote:expand_more
JSF--You have to buy someone's internet feed.  But with Amazon or NetFlix and such you don't have to buy their TV service.   But you knew that and were, of course, just testing me.


I'm talking about Internet service, not TV. I don't have TV, but I get my Internet through Comcast.

Quote:expand_more
Jeff, would you rather be 1) a content owner/provider or 2) a tv or cable service provider?


But the cable services are also content providers; they're just not as popular as Amazon and Netflix. But with Net Neutrality dead, they can make it a huge pain in the butt to access Netflix or Amazon in order to encourage people to go to their services.
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