Comcast

The new partnership is part of a breakthrough announced Sunday that requires Comcast’s Internet service to create new avenues for Netflix’s video to travel on its way to TVs and other devices. In return for the improved access, Netflix will pay Comcast an undisclosed amount of money for the next few years. The arrangement represents an about-face for Netflix Inc., which had steadfastly refused to pay high-speed Internet service providers already collecting $40 to $60 per month from its customers. Here’s a closer look at what this shift means for subscribers to Netflix and high-speed Internet services.

Netflix has agreed to pay Comcast to ensure the subscription service’s movies and TV shows stream seamlessly in a deal that underscores the power of distribution in the digital era — and could mean higher rates for consumers. The agreement may pave the way for similar arrangements between Netflix and other Internet service providers, including Verizon and AT&T.

The company is beginning a carefully orchestrated campaign, seeking support from members of Congress, state officials and leaders of nonprofit and minority-led groups.

The new retransmission consent contract CBS Corp. signed with Time Warner Cable last summer after a bitter fight could be a casualty of Comcast Corp.’s proposed acquisition of the pay-TV operator. According to people familiar with the deal, it does not include provisions protecting all the terms of the pact should Time Warner Cable be acquired by a distributor with a sweeter arrangement. These people requested anonymity because the agreement is confidential.

BIA/Kelsey’s Mark Fratrik on the announced Comcast-Time Warner Cable deal: “The combination of these two companies should make them more formidable in the local advertising marketplace. Already, local cable systems are becoming stronger competitors in the local advertising marketplace.”

With the Time Warner Cable deal, Comcast would not only lock up 30 percent of the cable market, but pricing leverage in all directions — with customers, networks and over-the-web providers like Netflix.

A promise to not fight retransmission consent tops the list of things broadcast TV operators want in exchange for not trying to derail the proposed $45 billion merger with Time Warner Cable.

Will Comcast’s political ties help it earn regulatory approval for its purchase of Time Warner Cable? It can’t hurt. Those that opposed Comcast’s big merger with NBCU were pretty stunned when the deal was approved three years ago. They shouldn’t have been. Every time Comcast CEO Brian Roberts appeared before a hearing, it was practically a love fest. Last year alone, Comcast spent more than $18.8 million on lobbying to influence issues like net neutrality, retransmission consent, and other cable laws, making it the seventh largest spender, per the Center for Responsive Politics.

Comcast Corp’s proposed $45.2 billion takeover of Time Warner Cable could face close scrutiny from U.S. antitrust regulators because of the deal’s potential to reshape the country’s pay TV and broadband markets. The company resulting from the merger of the top two U.S. cable service providers would boast a footprint spanning from New York to Los Angeles, with a near 30% share of the pay TV market as well as a strong position in providing broadband Internet services. 

“Nothing about this deal changes the way Comcast will deal with retransmission consent negotiations,” said a Comcast spokesperson. “Once the deal closes TWC will be part of Comcast and thus our practices will govern.”

The bid by Comcast to acquire Time Warner Cable would combine America’s two largest cable companies — but there are plenty of hurdles ahead before it can be a $45.2 billion done deal. The Justice Department or the Federal Trade Commission will examine the deal for antitrust concerns, and the FCC will decide if the merger is in the public interest.

Comcast Corp. has agreed to acquire Time Warner Cable Inc. for $158.82 a share in an all-stock deal, combining the nation’s top two cable TV companies. It will make Comcast, which also owns NBCUniversal, a dominant force in both creating and delivering entertainment to U.S. homes.

The full-year drop is primarily due to the lack of Super Bowl and Olympics revenue. Factor that out and 2013 was up 5%, due mostly to increased retrans money

No 1 cable provider Comcast, in its talks with Charter about a possible deal to acquire parts of Time Warner Cable, would be interested in an agreement that gives Comcast the New York market and parts of New England, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday.

At the upcoming Winter Games, Comcast’s Xfinity TV subscribers who use Comcas’s latest-generation X1 video set-top box will be able to access content that had once been “digital only.” That includes use of the NBC Sports Live Extra app on big-screen TVs. Live streaming of events and other coverage from Sochi, Russia, will also be available on the TV through the X1 box. All told, NBC is streaming more than 1,000 hours of live event coverage online.

Comcast, which shut down the neighborhood news last February amid financial losses, is relaunching it Thursday in Chicago, hoping to reconnect with its users and revive its fortunes in the challenging hyperlocal space.

Comcast Corp. has added Barclays Plc as an adviser as it evaluates a potential deal for Time Warner Cable Inc, according to people familiar with the matter. Comcast, the top U.S. cable company, hired Barclays late last year to review its deal options, along with JPMorgan Chase & Co., which it had earlier tapped for advice, the people said.

Charter Communications reached out to Comcast Corp. yesterday about teaming up to buy Time Warner Cable, after the larger rival rejected its $37.3 billion takeover bid, according to people familiar with the matter. Charter approached Comcast on Wednesday to discuss carving up the second-largest U.S. cable company’s systems and subscribers.

There’s a battle being waged for that much-maligned piece of furniture we all end up in front of sooner or later. Call it the Idiot Box, the Boob Tube or whatever you want — the majority of media consumption still happens in front of the television, and whether it’s gaming, movie watching, Netflix or just listening to the stereo, tech giants are fighting tooth and nail for a seat on your couch. Here’s what they’re bringing to the party.

Under its partnership with Comcast Corp., the country’s largest cable company, Samsung TVs would get 4K content through an app running on the Internet-connected TV, bypassing Comcast’s set-top boxes.

Comcast Corp. is examining three scenarios for a potential deal with Time Warner Cable Inc, including a full takeover bid for the second-largest cable operator, people close to the situation say. Top cable provider Comcast is also considering whether it could buy some selective TWC markets, or team up with another cable company besides Charter Communications to bid for all of TWC, the sources say.

A slew of broadcasters have agreed to make their content available via Twitter and Comcast’s new “See It” platform. The idea behind See It is just what the name implies: Users who see tweets about shows and video content will be able to jump directly from Twitter to watch or record the shows on Comcast or any other cable operator who is signed on.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai says that any effort by Comcast Corp. to acquire Time Warner Cable Inc. would face significant hurdles in Washington, casting doubt on a cable industry consolidation scenario that has grabbed Wall Street’s attention. WSJ subscribers can read the full story here.

According to a post on the company’s website, Xfinity was the No. 1 seller of digital versions of Despicable Me 2 for the week that ended Dec. 3, topping Apple’s iTunes, Amazon and Wal-Mart’s Vudu. Despicable Me 2 was made by Universal Pictures, a unit of Comcast. Xfinity has also been the No. 1 seller of The Hunger Games, for the last two weeks.

The No. 1 cable company says that it has overcome its biggest obstacle: its inability to provide up-to-date commercials in older episodes of TV series. Since advertisers wouldn’t pay for viewers watching obsolete spots, the networks providing the shows couldn’t profit from VOD users who wanted to catch up with a series. But on Sunday Comcast said that it’s teaming with Nielsen to test a product for its Xfinity platform that it calls On Demand Commercial Ratings (ODCR)

Wall Street reacted positively to reports of a merger, including the possibility that Comcast and Charter could team up to buy Time Warner Cable and then divide its holdings. Wall Street has been preparing for another wave of consolidation in the cable industry as distributors want to become more muscular to better compete in a technologically complex and competitive landscape. Operators also want more leverage in negotiations with major programmers such as Viacom, Walt Disney Co. and 21st Century Fox.

Time Warner Cable’s flirtation with potential merger suitors may include Comcast, which is seeking advice on possible regulatory hurdles if it should pursue a bid, sources close to the situation told CNBC today. According to people familiar with the matter, TWC has made it clear that if it should sell itself, Comcast would be its preferred buyer.

Steve Reynolds previously was senior vice president of consumer premises technology at Comcast. The company also announced Skip Sorenson as its new chief financial officer. Both executives will report to CEO Charlie Vogt. “Steve’s software and IP pedigree, most recently at Comcast, bring a cutting-edge customer perspective that is ideal for guiding our product direction, while Skip’s financial acumen spanning public and private companies aligns with our long-term goals and objectives,” Vogt said.

Comcast Corp. plans to start selling movies for download and streaming through the cable operator’s set-top boxes and its Xfinity TV website, according to people with knowledge of the plan. The effort will offer a new path for Hollywood studios to generate revenue from films after they leave theaters. For Comcast subscribers, it provides a way to purchase movies they can watch anytime on through a TV, computer or mobile devices.

With Xfinity TV Go subscribers will be able to watch 35 live TV channels on their Apple and Android devices outside their homes, as long as they have a Wi-Fi connection. Previously, the nation’s largest cable operator allowed subscribers to watch live feeds only on its website from a computer, or on mobile devices for special events like last year’s London Olympics.

Without Olympics revenue from last year, the broadcast TV segment’s revenue was down 41% in the third quarter, according to the earnings report from parent Comcast. But when the Olympics are factored out, revenue rose, driven by both higher retransmission consent fees and ad dollars.

Comcast customers will soon be able to buy premium movie and TV channel HBO and its HBO Go online service in a pared-down basic cable package that includes about 10 channels plus Internet access, for an introductory price of about $50 a month.
The new offer, which is publicized on Comcast’s website, is a chance for Time Warner-owned HBO to reach subscribers who felt they could not afford the channel before.

Are Comcast’s cable business and its NBCUniversal entertainment unit on the same page when it comes to the Aereo legal battle? That’s a question worth asking in the wake of Friday’s petition by major broadcasters seeking a Supreme Court review of the case over the online TV-streaming service.

Maggie McLean Suniewick to focus on better integration of Peacock assets and cable operations.

Comcast reached a deal with CBS to offer subscribers more of the network’s shows on video-on-demand and they cut a separate pact to offer all past seasons of two shows through its multiscreen Streampix service — giving the cable giant a bit more ammunition to fight over-the-top services like Netflix.

With an eye toward consolidating its Los Angeles-area operations, Comcast Corp. has purchased 10 Universal City Plaza, the tallest office building in the San Fernando Valley, for its NBCUniversal division. Comcast’s NBCUniversal unit is the largest tenant at the property, which sold for about $420 million, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter.

The FCC has upheld a decision it made last year ordering Comcast to put Bloomberg TV — a financial news outlet — within the same neighborhood containing other news and business journalism outlets, including CNBC, which is owned by the cable giant. Bloomberg had complained to the FCC that Comcast was favoring its own channels at the expense of Bloomberg.