 RickPremium,MVM
join:2001-02-06
Waterbury, CT | Umm..Karl... Your statement saying "General Electric meanwhile is taking on $9.1 billion in debt to finance the deal."
Is incorrect.
NBCU is taking on the debt to PAY to GE.
This in addition to the 6.5 Billion cash payment and cable assets from Comcast is how GE is getting paid for spinning off their 51% interest.
And, does anyone besides me find this statement totally laughable?
"The combination of the country’s largest cable company, a TV network and a movie studio could present grave dangers to a free and open Internet," complains Gigi Sohn of Public Knowledge.
Grave dangers to the internet?
While no doubt these media assets are significant with all the outlets there are today not only with tv stations but with the internet personally I think in looking at the whole scheme of things this isn't really that big of a deal. And certainly not one
that going to present "grave danger" to either tv viewers or certainly not the internet.
Anyways..I think it's a good deal for all involved. It makes more sense for Comcast to be in these businesses than GE at this point and I think it will help to shape the online video experience in a positive way over time.
Give it time to work out.
~Rick
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 ptrowskiGot Helix?Premium
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Putnam, CT
kudos:4 | A good deal for all involved except the general public, especially in theory for non Comcast subscribers. |
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RickPremium,MVM
join:2001-02-06
Waterbury, CT | said by ptrowski:A good deal for all involved except the general public, especially in theory for non Comcast subscribers. I think it's a win for the general public. Comcast will pay more attention to these assets and in building them and innovating in the future than GE ever would have.
To GE ..these assets were totally not a fit with their overall corporate strategy and would never have devoted the resources to them that is needed for the next generation. For Comcast..it's really a perfect fit with their tv and internet distribution systems.
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ptrowskiGot Helix?Premium
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| said by Rick: For Comcast..it's really a perfect fit with their tv and internet distribution systems. Right, but not the general public. What would prevent from Comcast/NBC etc putting content that is free for everyone now only free for Comcast subscribers? Would I now have to pay for content I was able to watch for free strictly because I am not in the Comcast area?
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 VanPremium
join:2009-07-08
New Orleans, LA | reply to Rick
I think people are worried that Comcast is going to start jacking up the prices with whatever they acquire in this deal |
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openbox9Premium
join:2004-01-26
japan
kudos:2 | reply to ptrowski
Re: Umm..Karl... said by ptrowski:What would prevent from Comcast/NBC etc putting content that is free for everyone now only free for Comcast subscribers? Are you discussing broadcast NBC? If so, in an interview this morning, Brian Roberts and Jeffrey Immelt affirmed their commitment to free OTA broadcasts of NBC and suggested that maintaining the free broadcasts is essential to growing their other cable offerings. |
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ptrowskiGot Helix?Premium
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| said by openbox9:said by ptrowski:What would prevent from Comcast/NBC etc putting content that is free for everyone now only free for Comcast subscribers? Are you discussing broadcast NBC? If so, in an interview this morning, Brian Roberts and Jeffrey Immelt affirmed their commitment to free OTA broadcasts of NBC and suggested that maintaining the free broadcasts is essential to growing their other cable offerings. I was thinking more along the lines of NBC.com etc. But it does bring up good points also. In theory as a DirecTv subscriber my bill could go up to pay for access to NBC. What if I started to see an "Olympics Access Fee" or something along those lines?
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openbox9Premium
join:2004-01-26
japan
kudos:2 | said by ptrowski:I was thinking more along the lines of NBC.com etc. I would guess that my reference to comments about free NBC being essential to growing other cable offerings, applies to NBC.com as well. How could it possibly be in Comcast's interest to restrict access to ad-laden content?said by ptrowski:In theory as a DirecTv subscriber my bill could go up to pay for access to NBC. No more than it already does based on retransmission agreement negotiations.said by ptrowski:What if I started to see an "Olympics Access Fee" or something along those lines? And how many of those do you see now? Honestly, I'm dumbfounded by how big of a deal some people are trying to make out of this. If the Olympics could possibly be monetized anymore, don't you think it would already be happening? |
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said by ptrowski:Right, but not the general public. What would prevent from Comcast/NBC etc putting content that is free for everyone now only free for Comcast subscribers? Would I now have to pay for content I was able to watch for free strictly because I am not in the Comcast area? Like what happened to VERSUS viewers on DirecTV ? ?
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ptrowskiGot Helix?Premium
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| said by jay_rm:said by ptrowski:Right, but not the general public. What would prevent from Comcast/NBC etc putting content that is free for everyone now only free for Comcast subscribers? Would I now have to pay for content I was able to watch for free strictly because I am not in the Comcast area? Like what happened to VERSUS viewers on DirecTV ? ? Exactly.
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| reply to Rick
Precisely.
General Electric is a manufacturing and financial services company *at its core* and has been since Thomas Alva Edison (heard of him?) helped found the company. NBC so does NOT fit; Universal Studios certainly doesn't fit.
Also, one thing that nobody (except, surprisingly, CNBC) has pointed out - GE NEEDS THE MONEY! (Why GE needs the money - GE Capital has been bleeding red ink by the barrel. GE Capital is the linchpin of GE Financial Services, and includes LOCs to consumers and businesses; in most cases, if you have a "store" credit card, the deal, at least indirectly, is likely with GE Capital. Between the shrinkage in consumer credit and writedowns in commercial lending, GE Capital needs to firm up the balance sheet.)
Comcast would likely be a BETTER steward for NBC than GE has ever been (think about how GE acquired NBC in the first place; NBC was an "incidental part" of that acquisition, and, due to ownership rules at the time, GE was in no position to divest itself of NBC). I'm certain the NBC Owned Stations will appreciate having management that actually cares. |
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ptrowskiGot Helix?Premium
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Ad-laden content is still free. I chose not to click the ads. But if Comcast could then have the same content for a fee, then it would be win-win for them, no? Generate more revenue from not Comcast customers.
As was stated before, the Versus Channel was a perfect example. We lost the channel on DirecTv. So it has been proven before that DirecTv subscribers have lost content controlled by Comcast. Now that they would have a much larger piece of the content pie I think that a concern is not far fetched at all.
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openbox9Premium
join:2004-01-26
japan
kudos:2 | said by ptrowski:Ad-laden content is still free. I chose not to click the ads. But if Comcast could then have the same content for a fee, then it would be win-win for them, no? Generate more revenue from not Comcast customers. And how many customers do they lose in charging an entrance fee? Turning off "free" is extremely challenging...witness the ongoing piracy battle.said by ptrowski:As was stated before, the Versus Channel was a perfect example. We lost the channel on DirecTv. So it has been proven before that DirecTv subscribers have lost content controlled by Comcast. Now that they would have a much larger piece of the content pie I think that a concern is not far fetched at all. I don't believe Versus is the only channel to ever disappear from DirecTV (or any provider for that matter). Distribution disagreements happen all of the time. I don't see this deal changing that. |
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ptrowskiGot Helix?Premium
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| Piracy and free content such as NBC.com are two different animals though. One is illegal, the other is not. In theory they would not lose any customers as it is currently free anyways. What I coudl see is smaller clips of shows, etc with ads and then a link to "Want to see the complete episode? Click here to sign up to NBComcast.com for only $2.99 a month to gain access to full episodes".
You are correct, Versus is not the only channel, there have been others. But with Comcast in theory controlling a MUCH larger portion of content, what would prevent them from raising rates on NBC for example? There is a channel that DirecTv would almost 100% be forced to have to pay for or lose a substantial chunk of subscribers.
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openbox9Premium
join:2004-01-26
japan
kudos:2 | said by ptrowski:What I coudl see is smaller clips of shows, etc with ads and then a link to "Want to see the complete episode? Click here to sign up to NBComcast.com for only $2.99 a month to gain access to full episodes". And nothing prevents NBCU from doing that prior to Comcast purchasing their majority stake. Nothing prevents any other online distribution outlet from doing that either. What is so wrong with Comcast doing it (I personally don't believe they will) after they assume responsibility? There are many online distribution sites that do this now.said by ptrowski:But with Comcast in theory controlling a MUCH larger portion of content, what would prevent them from raising rates on NBC for example? Absolutely nothing. The same thing that limits GE from doing it now  |
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VanPremium
join:2009-07-08
New Orleans, LA | They can try charging and watch as membership (well, viewers that is) plummet |
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ptrowskiGot Helix?Premium
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said by openbox9:said by ptrowski:What I coudl see is smaller clips of shows, etc with ads and then a link to "Want to see the complete episode? Click here to sign up to NBComcast.com for only $2.99 a month to gain access to full episodes". And nothing prevents NBCU from doing that prior to Comcast purchasing their majority stake. Nothing prevents any other online distribution outlet from doing that either. What is so wrong with Comcast doing it (I personally don't believe they will) after they assume responsibility? There are many online distribution sites that do this now. said by ptrowski:But with Comcast in theory controlling a MUCH larger portion of content, what would prevent them from raising rates on NBC for example? Absolutely nothing. The same thing that limits GE from doing it now Correct, there is nothing preventing them from doing it now. But right now anyone can access the information independant of their ISP. I can go on from work or my iphone or at home and view the content. But once the content is also owned by the ISP, that is when the chances IMHO increase dramatically for them to be able to start mucking with the pay to play scenario.
This is all speculation of course. But it could be a very real issue.
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openbox9Premium
join:2004-01-26
japan
kudos:2 | reply to Van
said by Van:They can try charging and watch as membership (well, viewers that is) plummet And that's exactly why I don't believe they will. That and the comments made in this morning's interview that Comcast sees NBC's free broadcasts (I take that to mean NBC.com too) as essential to marketing their other products. I don't believe it's in Comcast's best interest to begin charging for NBC content. |
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openbox9Premium
join:2004-01-26
japan
kudos:2 | reply to ptrowski
said by ptrowski:Correct, there is nothing preventing them from doing it now. But right now anyone can access the information independant of their ISP. I can go on from work or my iphone or at home and view the content. And they will still be able to do so after Comcast gains its 51% stake.said by ptrowski:This is all speculation of course. But it could be a very real issue. I just don't see the financial benefit of Comcast alienating consumers. |
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ptrowskiGot Helix?Premium
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| said by openbox9:said by ptrowski:Correct, there is nothing preventing them from doing it now. But right now anyone can access the information independant of their ISP. I can go on from work or my iphone or at home and view the content. And they will still be able to do so after Comcast gains its 51% stake. said by ptrowski:This is all speculation of course. But it could be a very real issue. I just don't see the financial benefit of Comcast alienating consumers. Not their own customers but it could be for people that are not in a footprint of Comcast. The financial benefit would be even $1 a month for non-Comcast customers there would be a large portion of people that would pay it. Multiply that and a few dollars add up to many.
Again, just speculation but I would imagine these are a few of the things the FCC will be looking at.
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