I can't believe no one has yet even trolled the possibility that allowing this merger would be payoff for both companies' loyal service to the NSA.
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Comcast Acquiring Time Warner Cable In All Stock Deal Worth $45.2 Billion
151–160 of 332 posts
Re: Comcast Acquiring Time Warner Cable In All Stock Deal Worth $45.2 Billion
#152Now, instead of spitting on TWC vans, I'll get to spit on Comcast vans.
Re: Comcast Acquiring Time Warner Cable In All Stock Deal Worth $45.2 Billion
#153It would be insane to let this go through. They're both effectively monopolists in most markets they serve; allowing them to combine just allows them to exert more political influence to make sure they keep their monopoly and high profit margins. Their core business is very much a low-value-added, rent-seeking concern, which doesn't benefit from economies of scale except for in as much as they can increase their mark…
Building the expensive infrastructure that Silicon Valley depends on to get its cat videos and advertisements to users is a low value add, rent seeking concern that doesn't benefit from economies of scale? Its exactly the opposite.
I'm not going to look around for balance sheets of these cable companies but they are doing FINE, even after building the expensive infra. Why? Because they charge BUCKS for it.
Re: Comcast Acquiring Time Warner Cable In All Stock Deal Worth $45.2 Billion
#154Does it strike anyone else as curious that the two largest cable/internet providers merge, and it doesn't matter because they already don't compete? It might be a sign that something's odd if the premise is that there's no competition between identical products to harm in the first place.
No.
I believe in the concept of a natural monopoly for most utilities though - Building outside plant is horrendously expensive - it to me makes as much sense to have multiple cable providers as it does multiple sets of power/telephone/water/sewer infrastructure.
I'd even like to see a fewer wireless carriers (consider that each for carrier are spending billions of dollars to roll out what amount to essentially identical network infrastructure often even from the same vendors - how on earth does that even begin to make sense? We - the rate payer ends up paying for it in the end thru higher rates - economy of scale is a thing, and it works.
Having been in the industry for about 2 years now, looking at the spectrum, I believe that we have enough for two, possibly three really competitive national wireless carriers - as in a complete nation wide footprint. That means 20x20 LTE even in rural areas, plus whatever 2g (CDMA 1x or GSM) tech you need for circuit switch voice, and whatever legacy 3g you need too (EDGE and HSDPA or EV-DO), with the eventual goal of multiple 20x20 or 40x40 carriers once we can replace all the legacy stuff - but consider the current for a moment, that Sprint in Seattle on 1900 mhz only has 20 mhz duplex, and nothing on 800 at all - this is excluding the acres on 2.5, because of the obvious limitations of use with atmospheric issues.
That said - the only way natural monopolies do not become abusive natural monopolies is thru intense and careful regulation - mostly by setting a fixed rate of return for the infrastructure, and then building rates from that.
Re: Comcast Acquiring Time Warner Cable In All Stock Deal Worth $45.2 Billion
#155If this merger goes thru, (and the AnitTrust people would have to be really asleep at the wheel for that) two things are certain: 1) Americans can expect some of the worst Cable price gouging they have ever seen 2) NetFlix, Amazon Prime et al will become really popular as a result of all the customers saying "FU ComcastWarner"
>the AnitTrust people would have to be really asleep at the wheel for that
Call me a pessimist but I think this will go through. Why? The lobbyists already sounded out (lobbied/paid-off/promised-job-in-future) enough people in govt to feel that this will go through, or at least there is enough chance of it happening.
I bet this will go through, especially using the point that they don't compete against each other (which would be stupid reason to accept by AntiTrust people). They were NOT designed to compete against each other in the first place. They were given geographic divisions by regulators for that very reason.
Re: Comcast Acquiring Time Warner Cable In All Stock Deal Worth $45.2 Billion
#156Earlier quoted context omitted.
He wasn't making a point about vertical integration, but rather about monopoly power. Perdue and Tyson are vertically integrated. They own feed mills, hatcheries, grow farms, packing plants, and distribution. No one cares because you can always just pick the package of chicken that costs $3.29 instead of $3.59. I also don't see how Samsung is vertically integrated. They don't make the OS, the App store, or have conte…
See his second paragraph about owning NBC.
That was also about monopoly power. If NBC were an independent entity, they would license their back catalogue to the highest bidder. Given that NBC is owned by a cable company, the strategy changes. The current dynamic for NBC is, if we license to Netflix, then some people will cut the cord, lowering Comcast/TWC cable revenue. The bigger Comcast is, the less likely NBC is willing to license content to Netflix. If NBC were independent, they would maximize their own revenue, but because they are owned by Comcast, NBC's decisions are to optimize profits for the combined company which is likely not in the interest of consumers.
Re: Comcast Acquiring Time Warner Cable In All Stock Deal Worth $45.2 Billion
#157Earlier quoted context omitted.
Building the expensive infrastructure that Silicon Valley depends on to get its cat videos and advertisements to users is a low value add, rent seeking concern that doesn't benefit from economies of scale? Its exactly the opposite.
Does economy of scale start to level out above, say, 11 million customers?
Probably not in 'lobbying power'.
Re: Comcast Acquiring Time Warner Cable In All Stock Deal Worth $45.2 Billion
#158Earlier quoted context omitted.
Actually, they wouldn't arbitrarily price their products that way. Companies engage in a little thing called price discrimination. The only difference in a monopoly is that you are the sole price leader. That doesn't mean you can arbitrarily set the price high. Most cable companies have monopolies thru license in municipalities.
>That doesn't mean you can arbitrarily set the price high. You can if you corner the market and the good is required like food is.
Just try. But first, you'll want a refresher on the French Revolution, letting the starving "eat cake" and the amazing effectiveness of guillotines.
Re: Comcast Acquiring Time Warner Cable In All Stock Deal Worth $45.2 Billion
#159Earlier quoted context omitted.
Another problem is that Comcast is an internet provider for a lot of people. It's actually my only option right now, so if I want to access that Netflix subscription, I still need to pay Comcast, so point 1) will make that all the worse since it's already clear they throttle heavily on Netflix, this will only make the degraded experience even more expensive.
Looks like a VPN service for a few dollars more could let people circumvent the throttling.
That works for now, but I don't understand why it's unthinkable that Comcast start throttling VPN services, too.
Re: Comcast Acquiring Time Warner Cable In All Stock Deal Worth $45.2 Billion
#160This is either good news or bad news for municipal ISPs. Good news in that you could hardly ask for a better catalyst. Bad news in that Comcast will have even more motivation to murder the entire concept in its sleep.