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Author
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Topic: Time Warner - Comcast merger
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Node
Knowflake Posts: 2612
From: 2,021 mi East of Truth or Consequences NM
Registered: Apr 2009
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posted February 15, 2014 03:58 PM
  
Pre 1990 there were over 50 media outlets.How many do we have now? ------------------
“The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.” ¯ Neil deGrasse Tyson
IP: Logged |
Randall
Webmaster Posts: 37977
From: Saturn next to Charmainec
Registered: Apr 2009
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posted February 16, 2014 01:15 PM
Why do you have a problem with mergers, yet you support a takeover of industries via the global warming alarmists? Six of one, half a dozen of the other.IP: Logged |
Node
Knowflake Posts: 2612
From: 2,021 mi East of Truth or Consequences NM
Registered: Apr 2009
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posted February 17, 2014 07:48 AM
If you fail to see the ramifications of further concentrating an already concentrated market--
nothing I post will help you see.Did you know that after Comcast bought NBC Universal FCC Commissioner Meredith Attwell Baker was hired by Comcast for an undisclosed amount?
Did you know the recently installed head of the Department of Justice Antitrust Division, William Baer, was a lawyer representing GE and NBC in their push for the merger with Comcast? And:
Maureen Ohlhausen, one of four commissioners on the Federal Trade Commission, which oversees antitrust enforcement, provided legal counsel for Comcast as an attorney just before joining the FTC?
six of one?
all you see is merger, it is far more reaching. In addition to your broadband fee do you want to pay as you go on the internet? Meaning, it is quite possible that you will have download limits with your fees. Once you go over your limit you keep paying for each additional website/download/email because you have reached your service limit?? This is only one scenario [broadband]
there are others under the Comcast umbrella. list of assets owned by Comcast IP: Logged |
Randall
Webmaster Posts: 37977
From: Saturn next to Charmainec
Registered: Apr 2009
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posted February 17, 2014 12:46 PM
I would choose a higher internet bill over thousands losing their jobs in the coal and associated industries, especially with the fact that despite rising CO2 levels, there has been no warming for almost two decades. Priorities.IP: Logged |
Catalina
Knowflake Posts: 1408
From: shamballa
Registered: Aug 2013
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posted February 17, 2014 01:28 PM
Been to W Va lately, Randall? Or So Dakota? What about a monopolized media are youokay with? The lack of competition? The lack of choice as to what you can and cannot hear/see? Or perhaps you think a Free Press is not crucial? Industries come and go. Trains put the Pony Express in the past...new jobs replace old ones. But a sewn up media makes life as we know it unworkable. Many jobs are disappearing due to technology. Information must be free. Are we to go back to the grapevine? May be our only recourse... IP: Logged |
Catalina
Knowflake Posts: 1408
From: shamballa
Registered: Aug 2013
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posted February 17, 2014 01:28 PM
I don't see why you conflate loss of media freedom with your global climate obsession...@ node .. I heard an interesting clip from the senate review of Comcast's bid the other day. At least some senators are wide awake as to what is going on... IP: Logged |
Randall
Webmaster Posts: 37977
From: Saturn next to Charmainec
Registered: Apr 2009
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posted February 17, 2014 04:02 PM
My point is that you see oppression in capitalism but ignore it elsewhere. IP: Logged |
Catalina
Knowflake Posts: 1408
From: shamballa
Registered: Aug 2013
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posted February 17, 2014 04:29 PM
Capitalism is at serious risk when large conglomerates consolidate as comcast is attempting, or when banks become owners of global resources as Taibbi discusses. There is no free market when a very few companies control the world economy AND the available information. IP: Logged |
Catalina
Knowflake Posts: 1408
From: shamballa
Registered: Aug 2013
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posted February 17, 2014 04:56 PM
Yes the coal industry is threatened by environmentalists..but as it progresses to more efficient methods, the jobs are going anyway, and with them people's homes and communities
http://www.businessinsider.com/west-virginia-coal-mining-2014-2?op=1 Not to mention their potable water... IP: Logged |
Node
Knowflake Posts: 2612
From: 2,021 mi East of Truth or Consequences NM
Registered: Apr 2009
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posted February 17, 2014 07:23 PM
You are bringing in your obsession with other topics Randall.Try to look past the trees please...to the forest. Control is what this is about. Do you want certain sites blacked out? Do you want the free internet? Do you want the ability to visit sites spreading their word, no matter what that WORD is? These mega corps are not practicing free enterprise, and are not playing by the rules. Comcast has already seen legal battles about their absorption of NBC, they are not only refusing to abide by the contract, they are taking us to court. When a mega puts players in gov to assure their own outcomes, YOUR freedoms are lost, because of control. They will control the media, what you see and hear.
They will control our government. Freedom of the press has rarely been more tenuous than it is right now. Journalism is at stake too. Real journalism-- where folks are on the front line in defense of your freedoms. And their right to print it. Cherish them while they last. IP: Logged |
Randall
Webmaster Posts: 37977
From: Saturn next to Charmainec
Registered: Apr 2009
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posted February 17, 2014 08:24 PM
Control is what climate change is about. It's humorous seeing people who advocate control in one avenue arguing against it in another. Irony, anyone?IP: Logged |
Node
Knowflake Posts: 2612
From: 2,021 mi East of Truth or Consequences NM
Registered: Apr 2009
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posted February 17, 2014 08:28 PM
Nice tree.I will not debate on that subject with you. AG has already done that. IP: Logged |
Node
Knowflake Posts: 2612
From: 2,021 mi East of Truth or Consequences NM
Registered: Apr 2009
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posted February 17, 2014 08:31 PM
Try to focus your reply on the subject at hand.IP: Logged |
Randall
Webmaster Posts: 37977
From: Saturn next to Charmainec
Registered: Apr 2009
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posted February 17, 2014 08:55 PM
This is just senseless paranoia over nothing. Capitalism and the free market should determine industry, not legislation coupled with fear. Much ado 'bout nothing. IP: Logged |
Randall
Webmaster Posts: 37977
From: Saturn next to Charmainec
Registered: Apr 2009
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posted February 17, 2014 09:26 PM
Stop Whining About The Comcast-Time Warner MergerAfter months of being courted by Charter Communications Inc., Time Warner Cable Inc. has agreed to be purchased by Comcast Corp. for $45.2 billion in stock. The immediate reaction was that this would be bad for consumers, who already rank both companies as among the worst in the U.S. Some have even argued that the deal should be blocked on antitrust grounds, because it would combine the two biggest cable providers into a company with about a third of all U.S. pay-television subscribers. Although it’s unlikely that the merger will lead to lower cable bills, the acquisition might help moderate price increases and increase U.S. broadband penetration. Time Warner Cable customers could also benefit from getting Comcast’s superior set-top boxes.
First, it’s important to remember that the combination can’t decrease competition because there is almost no overlap between Comcast and Time Warner Cable coverage areas. This is because over the years de facto local monopolies have emerged in the cable market. No one will be deprived of choice as a result of this merger, which makes it qualitatively different from other deals that have been blocked by the Department of Justice, such as the ill-fated merger between wireless carriers T-Mobile USA Inc. and AT&T Inc.
To understand what the deal is really about, remember that pay-TV distributors are at the mercy of the networks that sell programming. According to Bloomberg Industries analyst Pal Sweeney, about half your cable bill goes to companies such as Viacom Inc. and Walt Disney Co. The networks consistently raise prices about 10 percent a year on average, irrespective of the state of the economy. By contrast, the typical cable bill only goes up by about 5 percent a year. Cable companies have eaten the difference by lowering their margins and cutting costs elsewhere, but there are limits to both processes.
This margin squeeze is why Time Warner Inc. spun off its cable business, why Comcast acquired NBC Universal, and why Internet-based subscription services offered by Netflix Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. have invested in original programming as a defense against the rising cost of licensing content. It also explains why Time Warner Cable had to cave to demands for higher fees from CBS Corp. a few months ago. Merging the two biggest cable operators might give them more bargaining power with the networks, especially if it encourages DIRECTV and Dish Network Corp. to consolidate the satellite business.
Saving money on content would allow the enlarged Comcast to improve Internet access and speed -- areas in which the U.S. lags behind other rich nations. Right now, about 10 to 12 percent of cable company revenue goes to capital expenditures, while about half goes to the networks, according to Sweeney. Even those who think the announced merger is bad for consumers say that the combined company is more likely to upgrade its broadband network to gigabit speeds, in part because the bigger company would have pricing power over equipment suppliers.
http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-13/stop-whining-about-the-comcast-time-warner-merger.html IP: Logged |
Catalina
Knowflake Posts: 1408
From: shamballa
Registered: Aug 2013
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posted February 17, 2014 09:34 PM
When the legislation is designed by the Morgan Chase think tank to enable monopolies, it isn't the "free market" they are pushing for but the opposite. A monopoly pushes out competitors and rigs the game, as do big mergers like this. Witness the decrease in service and increase in prices and excess fees in the air travel business that it's the direct result of removing legislation that encouraged competition.I don't know who is advocating for control here, except the big multinationals who want to be exempt from all local or national regulation as in the TPP. ? What's the difference between a politician who takes unilateral decisions and a businessman who does likewise? Your ability to vote. IP: Logged |
Catalina
Knowflake Posts: 1408
From: shamballa
Registered: Aug 2013
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posted February 17, 2014 09:46 PM
They may stay in their separate corners but they will still be fixing prices and limiting options. The radio biz has already gone this way and it hasn't resulted in trying to please more consumers but the opposite, as with the airlines.Calling it whining doesn't make the deal any sweeter for the customer. I doubt it will go through but if it does it is only the next step towards even fewer carriers. I would call it whining to bemoan the drastic limits on the profits of either company, they are doing fine already. But cable was once the opportunity for truly free communications networks, and has become another commercialized pap factory. IP: Logged |
Node
Knowflake Posts: 2612
From: 2,021 mi East of Truth or Consequences NM
Registered: Apr 2009
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posted February 18, 2014 01:19 AM
Too bad Randall didn't take the time to read the comment section of the article he posted. An 'article' posted in lieu of thinking for himself and responding to the points you and I have made Cat.IP: Logged |
Randall
Webmaster Posts: 37977
From: Saturn next to Charmainec
Registered: Apr 2009
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posted February 18, 2014 11:07 AM
The content of the article is what I loaded. I don't care about what nutjobs say in the comments. IP: Logged |
Catalina
Knowflake Posts: 1408
From: shamballa
Registered: Aug 2013
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posted February 18, 2014 11:48 AM
It still seems to surprise you, Randall, that most people are not either all left or all right...different circumstances demand different approaches, not an all-across-the-board ideology to fix disparate situations.It seems that you don't understand that "free market" is a euphemism sold by the big conglomerates to allow CONTROL by business as opposed to control by govt. Why do you think the Founding Fathers devised a govt in the first place? Because they thought we didn't need one? I look forward to the day when you can discuss differences of opinion without labelling the "other" side as Whining Nutjobs...a lot of them are at least as intelligent as you or I. The pugilistic approach is fast losing followers. The Rand Paul NO CONTROL folk are nothing of the sort. They work for big biz and do everything they can to control PRIVATE behaviour...while allowing the paymasters to control commerce without interference from the govt (we the people). IP: Logged |
AcousticGod
Knowflake Posts: 8530
From: Dublin, CA
Registered: Apr 2009
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posted February 18, 2014 12:14 PM
This is hardly about "nothing". It's about monopoly, which is an issue for Capitalists. quote:
It still seems to surprise you, Randall, that most people are not either all left or all right...different circumstances demand different approaches, not an all-across-the-board ideology to fix disparate situations.
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Randall
Webmaster Posts: 37977
From: Saturn next to Charmainec
Registered: Apr 2009
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posted February 18, 2014 12:52 PM
Actually, the Left is quite identifiable. They see alarm in free market, capitalism, and anything they cannot control. IP: Logged |
Catalina
Knowflake Posts: 1408
From: shamballa
Registered: Aug 2013
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posted February 18, 2014 01:04 PM
I realize that is your line and you're sticking to it...but it doesn't match the actual facts. You didn't answer my question tho...why do we have a govt?IP: Logged |
Catalina
Knowflake Posts: 1408
From: shamballa
Registered: Aug 2013
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posted February 18, 2014 01:44 PM
And no pne is taking over industries...that is paranoiac propaganda...like the inevitable death panels! Did you see my post of Suzanne white's sharing re French vs US healthcare?IP: Logged |
Randall
Webmaster Posts: 37977
From: Saturn next to Charmainec
Registered: Apr 2009
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posted February 18, 2014 01:48 PM
Ask your beloved President why we have a government--in particular, why we have three branches.IP: Logged |
Lindaland
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