Posts Tagged ‘Comcast’

Comcast’s Triple Play

June 27th, 2008 2 Comments

Years ago, I got rid of my landline because, well…who needs one?

Sure lots of people have them still, but it’s well known that telephone operators are losing revenue to mobile operators because of the popularity of cell phones. Many people have decided to drop the land lines because they are a) always on the run, b) don’t want to pay extra for a phone they don’t use and c) love their cell phones.

Well, I decided to get a phone but through my cable provider Comcast. I called them up yesterday to see if I could get a lower rate on my cable bill, and they came back with a great offer of $159/month for a triple play package–voice, data and cable. That comes with all the premium channels (Starz, HBO, Showtime, Skinemax Cinemax and more), plus unlimited local and long distance calls.

I’ve used VOIP years ago when it was kind of crappy quality, but now I’m guessing that it’s much better.

Cable operators are also under pressure to get more revenue and keep customers. Telephone companies like AT&T and Verizon are starting to offer TV (U-Verse and FiOS TV, respectively) and they already have voice and data (DSL).  So telcos are now competing with cable companies. And vice versa.

Overall, it’s great for consumers. We get cheap triple or quad-play packages. And they get to keep me as a customer for another month.

At least until I get a better offer from someone else.

Anyway, I recommend calling your local broadband or TV provider and negotiate for a lower rate. Shop around, find out what kind of prices and offers are being advertised, and chances are you’ll get a much lower rate and maybe some new services or channels. Good luck!

Posted in Broadband, VOIP Tags: ,

Cable Companies Want Exclusive TV Content

June 17th, 2008 No Comments

It seems that cable companies are finally getting tired of competing with all the free TV shows that are streaming over the Internet. According to an article in AdAge.com, Time Warner Cable’s CEO Glenn Britt said that they do care when TV networks put their full-length content online and essentially bypass cable TV.

This is a fight that’s been a long time coming. Hollywood studios and networks are finally realizing that they want to reach the most number of people as possible and not be constrained by traditional broadcast TV models. For example HBO has hosted many full-length shows online, as have ABC (Desperate Housewives, Lost), NBC (Hereos) and others.

Studios are embracing this new “Hollywood 2.0″ mentality that they want wider options for their content, and different mediums rather than trying to keep everyone tuned into their TV sets. In fact, a Time Warner cable spokesperson said they are prepared to withhold some subscriber revenue from the networks.

“Our point of view is that there is a segment of our audience that is living more primarily online than they are living on other platforms,” said Erik Flannigan, exec VP-digital media of MTV Networks’ Entertainment Group. “As some of our actions have made clear, the consumer will have many places they want to consume content. As long as we’re putting forth that experience and getting the lion’s share of the advertising, everybody wins.”

I don’t think that it will come to that, however. Cable companies are scared, and are trying to say and do anything to make people understand that they feel threatened by the Internet. Broadcast TV is being threatened–by DVRs, Internet delivery and even DVDs. But any major change to the established broadcast cable TV systems won’t happen for many years.

Some cable providers, like Comcast, have embraced the Internet and have developed web properties (like FanCast.com). It seems that other TV providers will have to learn how to adapt in the face of the growing Internet menace.

[tags] FanCast, Comcast, Advertising, AdAge, Ad Age, Cable TV, cable [/tags]

Posted in Hollywood Tags: , , ,
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