[BC] Goliath Comcast Strikes

[Rich Wood]

As many of us feared, another media giant begins to strike at 
competitors. What we've seen happen to Radio seems about to happen, 
again, to Internet streaming. Cable systems consolidated well before 
Radio did and we've all seen what's happened to Cable rates.

As Comcast gets ready to swallow NBC/Universal, competitors to NBC's 
Hulu may have to take a bullet in the form of increased Comcast rates 
for streaming. Actually, the bullets will hit consumers.

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/29/netflix-partner-says-comcast-toll-threatens-online-video-delivery/?ref=technology

While Netflix and YouTube will probably be their first targets, it 
leads me to wonder how Jabba-the-Comcast will treat aggregators for 
Radio and TV streaming.

I think we all expect that the "economy of scale" will result, as all 
others have, in far higher rates from Internet providers such as 
Verizon and the other gargantuan guardians of the pipes.

I think it's time to renew my library card. Printed media and video 
rental stores may get a second wind as we get closer to $200 a month 
cable/Internet packages. AT&T complains about heavy smartphone data 
use while it advertises the video and other streaming services the 
phones provide. In the past that's usually preceded significant 
increases in rates.

I wonder how this will affect all the grand predictions of new 
Internet companies and products. It probably won't be good. More 
directly, I wonder how it'll affect Radio's use of the net for both 
streaming, IP STLs, and remotes via the net.

I just canceled my Hulu Plus subscription to pay for the Netflix 
increase caused by Comcast.

Rich