Slashdot Mirror
Comcast Forgets To Delete Revealing Note From Blog Post
An anonymous reader notes that Comcast inadvertently posted a bit too much in a blog post today. Earlier today, Comcast published a blog post to criticize the newly announced coalition opposing its merger with Time Warner Cable and to cheer about the FCC's decision to restart the "shot clock" on that deal. But someone at Kabletown is probably getting a stern talking-to right now, after an accidental nugget of honesty made its way into that post. Comcast posted to their corporate blog today about the merger review process, reminding everyone why they think it will be so awesome and pointing to the pro-merger comments that have come in to the FCC. But they also left something else in. Near the end, the blog post reads, "Comcast and Time Warner Cable do not currently compete for customers anywhere in America. That means that if the proposed transaction goes through, consumers will not lose a choice of cable companies. Consumers will not lose a choice of broadband providers. And not a single market will see a reduction in competition. Those are simply the facts." The first version of the blog post, which was also sent out in an e-mail blast, then continues: "We are still working with a vendor to analyze the FCC spreadsheet but in case it shows that there are any consumers in census blocks that may lose a broadband choice, want to make sure these sentences are more nuanced." After that strange little note, the blog post carries on in praise of competition, saying, "There is a reason we want to provide our customers with better service, faster speeds, and a diverse choice of programming: we don't want to lose them."
This is a goof, but it doesn't reveal anything interesting. The note says that they have to make sure that the number of places where they compete with Time Warner for the same customers really is zero and not just very low.
What is more revealing is the statement which stayed in: that the market is not competitive.
Right now the only thing that has pushed the cable companies to innovate are the likes of Google Fiber and Netflix and Amazon. The don't really compete with each other. Fiber threatens them directly on internet while Netflix and Amazon competes with them on content. This merger would all grant enormous market power for one company. Before they might have competed for the same geographic region. Now, not so much.
Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
I hate Comcast as much as the next guy, but I don't see how this is that bad. They don't think there will be reduction in competition, but they're double-checking to make sure that's true, and if it isn't, they'll have to be less bold with their language. Isn't that the right thing to do?
When any company can come in and lay down lines and provide service without having to pay off the City Council/County Supervisors/State Legislatures, THEN there will be real competition.
Render all cable franchise agreements null and void. Let the providers beat a path to my TV/Internet.
When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
"We're not the corrupt ones! It's the legislators who took our bribes who are corrupt!"
Pretty much the Republican Party platform when you get right down to it.