Every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup. Get an email subscription for our weekly Comcast roundup or other news updates.

• Netflix CEO’s Comcast Complaints Draw in FCC [Wall Street Journal: Digits] — Reed Hastings
• Reed Hastings Goes After Comcast, Again, on Facebook. Again. [All Things Digital] — More on the Netflix CEO
• Councilman Jim Kenney thinks FiOs is dragging its feet [CBS 3] “We were happy to have competition with our current major cable provider, Comcast.  But we want to make sure that every neighborhood in the city is getting built out with the Fios, and not just neighborhoods that can afford to pay the fees,” he said. Philadelphia Councilman Thinks Verizon May Be Foot-Dragging On FiOS Construction

• Judge: Comcast customers will get their day in court [Inquirer] – “Nine years after filing their first legal complaint, Comcast customers who contend that the cable television giant undercut competitors with unfair pricing policies and other anticompetitive strategies can take their claims to a jury.”
• Comcast and satellite companies at impasse over SportsNet programming [Inquirer] — “If you’re a sports fan and a cable subscriber, you could have caught much of this winter and spring’s action on Comcast SportsNet, which carries a majority of this city’s baseball, hockey and basketball games. But you still can’t watch most of your local teams’ games on Dish Network or DirecTV — unlike almost everywhere else in the country”
• Comcast Promotes Melanie Penna to SVP of Human Resources for Comcast Cable [citybizlist]
• NBC-Owned Stations, Comcast Sports Group Strike Ad Sales Partnership
  Station Group to Sell National Advertising for Comcast RSNs in Philly, DC, New England, Northwest (Multichannel News)
• Hulu to Boost Spending on Content This Year by 67% [Wall Street Journal: Digits]
• Comcast Is First U.S. ISP to Offer IPv6 to Home Gateway Users [Network World]
• Comcast Tests Network DVR in Boston [Light Reading Cable]

Every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup. Get an e-mail subscri ption for our Comcast news updates.

• Comcast defends its local rates for cable TV [Boston Globe] — “Cable television giant Comcast Corp. yesterday defended its local rates as Mayor Thomas M. Menino filed a petition asking the Federal Communications Commission to give the city control over the price of basic cable service in Boston.”
• Massachusetts Sen. Kerry steps into Comcast-Boston brouhaha [Fierce Cable]
• Comcast annual meeting lasts 35 minutes [Inquirer] — Attended by 50 people, the Inquirer reports it far shorter than ones in the past
• Only AFL-CIO Rains on Comcast’s Parade [AdWeek]

More below, including how Brian Roberts brought Stephen Spielberg to Center City.

• The small, highly interconnected world of Home Shopping Channels: QVC, HSN, ShopNBC (and Comcast) [Philly Tech News] — How Comcast could hedge against expansion of QVC, which it formerly had stake in
• Dan Gross: Spielberg’s in town for fundraiser [Daily News] — “FILMMAKER Steven Spielberg is expected to tour the National Museum of American Jewish History today while in town for his USC Shoah Foundation Institute’s fundraiser tonight at the Loews Hotel, honoring Comcast CEO Brian Roberts.”
• Dan Gross: Comcast eyes name change [Daily News] — “EXPECT COMCAST SportsNet to soon change its name to NBC Sports Philadelphia.”
• Love in the Time of Comcast: A tragicomedy [Philly Post: Philly mag] — A bad Comcast experience
• Comcast taps FCC Commissioner Meredith Attwell Baker for D.C. office [Company Town: LA Times]
• Project Open Voice: Comcast launches project to increase local media, video and other content in Philly, elsewhere [Technically Philly]
• Net Neutrality in a Nutshell [Ecommerce Times] — Reviews the battle, includes Comcast/FCC clash
• Comcast customers will TiVo on actual TiVos [Philadelphia Business Journal] — Halting internal development
• City Year getting a $20M hand from Comcast [Philadelphia Business Journal]

Every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup. Get an e-mail subscri ption for our Comcast news updates.

DEFINITE READS

• Comcast CEO Brian Roberts Calls Netflix Streaming Service a Positive [Hollywood Reporter] “What used to be called “reruns” on television is now called Netflix,” he says
• Comcast’s Brian Roberts: The man who loves cable [Company Town: Los Angeles Times] — Brian Roberts was most concerned about transitioning Steve Burke from COO to NBC chief.

MIGHT INTEREST

• Peers or not? Comcast and Level 3 slug it out at FCC’s doorstep [ars technica] H/T PTN
• Comcast, NBC deal opens door for online video [USA Today]
• Cable TV In Pursuit Of Mobility [State of the Art: New York Times] — A funny faux internal Comcast memo on trends in the industry of TV.

Below, a big deal with Samsung, negotiating Manhattan real estate and more.

• Cable Channels Over the Internet, on Samsung TVs [Gadgetwise: New York Times] — “Samsung made a strong push for its Internet-connected televisions on Thursday, announcing new deals with several companies to provide content on its televisions, smartphones and tablet computers.Executives from Time Warner Cable and Comcast joined Boo-Keun Yoon, Samsung’s president and general manager of visual displays, on stage during his keynote presentation at the Consumer Electronics Show here, and discussed plans to bring live programming to Samsung’s Internet-connected televisions and tablets without the need for a set-top box. “
• Xfinity TV App Now Available on Android [Comcast blog] Get the Inquirer story on it.
• Univision gives NBC, Comcast bad news [MarketWatch] — “Now, Comcast Corp. can see exactly how much work needs to be done to help its new baby, NBC, grow up. “

GLANCE

• Countdown to Comcast Cares Day celebrating 10 year of service [Comcast blog]
• NBCU Rock-ing mega-lease [New York Post] –” Now that Comcast has acquired a majority stake, NBC Universal has quietly signed a massive lease at Rockefeller Center with an NBC Trust and General Electric affiliate, public records show.”
• NBCU Local Strategy: Balancing Individualism And Uniform Qualities [paidContent] — Part of the Comcast regulatory approval was to beef up local news coverage.

Every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup. Get ane-mail subscription for our Comcast news updates.

• Comcast Posts 7% Increase in Revenue [New York Times]
• New NBC Universal CEO Steve Burke: NBC Network Turnaround Will Take Years [Hollywood Reporter]
• Update: McDowell: Deal Desperation Fueled Comcast Acquiescence to Net Rules [Multichannel News] — “Republican FCC commissioner Robert McDowell said Wednesday that Comcast told him the reason it agreed to voluntarily abide by the FCC’s network neutrality rules whether or not they were overturned by the courts was because it was desperate to get the deal approved.”
• Is TV Everywhere Working For Comcast? [Gigaom] — “Comcast had some good news for investors this morning, with news that the number of subscribers lost to pay TV competitors and online-only services had slowed dramatically in the fourth quarter. Could Comcast’s slower subscriber losses be evidence that its TV Everywhere initiative might actually be working?” H/T Philly Tech News
• Comcast, Time Warner join IPv6 test program [Cnet]

Every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup. Get an e-mail subscription for our Comcast news updates.

DEFINITE READS

• Comcast Deal May Hang on Showing Rivals’ Online Video [BusinessWeek] — Nothing new here, online video has always been the most talked about issue in the merger
• In NBC’s Shadow, Comcast Ponders an Olympic Plunge [New York Times]
• FCC chair to approve Comcast-NBC merger with conditions for program sharing [Post Tech: Washington Post]

Below, discounts to lower income customers, video of ‘Comcast Holiday Hell’ and more.

MIGHT BE OF INTEREST

• Nonprofit news may thrive in Comcast takeover [New York Times] — “Comcast is pledging to establish partnerships between news nonprofits and at least five of the 10 NBC television stations that are owned by NBC Universal. “
• Comcast to offer discounts to needy if NBC deal approved [Philadelphia Business Journal]
• Comcast and NBCU — A Status Update [Comcast blog] — Senior Vice President David L. Cohen writes of “substantial progress toward approval of the Comcast-GE transaction relating to NBC Universal” Last week, as the Washington Post reported, the FCC circulated amog its five members an order with merger conditions for the NBC deal.
• Does the FCC Want to Kill Hulu? [Media Memo: All Things Digital] — The conflict between proposed FCC limitations on NBC video and a deal it struck with Hulu

WORTH NOTING

• Seven Sports Events That Won’t Happen in 2011 [New York Times] — Oh, so Comcast won’t be buying NFL Network to merge it with Versus.
• The Really Big Screen [Slate] — On the Comcast Center video screen
• FCC releases full net neutrality rules [Engadgetnet]
• Readers Write: Comcast’s Holiday Hell [Philebrity] — An angry customer shoots video of a long wait at a Delaware Avenue customer service building.

Every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup. Get an e-mail subscription for our Comcast news updates.

DEFINITE READS

• Internet issues bog down Comcast-NBC merger [LA Times]
• Comcast Tests Combo Internet-Cable Device [Wall Street Journal] — “Comcast Corp. is testing a new service that knits together television and the Internet, as the U.S. cable giant goes after rivals that threaten to undermine its business.
• Rockefeller Pans Comcast-NBCU Deal [Tech Daily Does: National Journal] — “Senate Commerce Chairman Jay Rockefeller – the most powerful voice in Congress on telecom policy — told the FCC he’s worried that the $30 billion transaction could have a detrimental impact on consumers and competition.”
• Comcast getting good deal on NBC Universal, research firm Bernstein says [Philadelphia Business Journal]

Below, why Comcast should chase the Olympics, is the end of NBC regulatory approval nearing and more.

MIGHT BE OF INTEREST

• Voros: Comcast bullies rivals even during federal probe [San Jose Mercury]
• Comcast Must Court Olympics, Part of NBC’s Legacy [TV Blog: Media Post]
• Upton urges FCC to finish Comcast-NBC merger review [Post Tech: Washington Post] — “Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich), the incoming chairman of the House energy and commerce committee urged the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission to wrap up the agency’s review of Comcast’s proposed merger with NBC Universal and resist imposing conditions that don’t apply directly to the deal.”
• Comcast Answers Today’s Traffic Question [Comcast blog]
• Net neutrality expected to pass, investment analyst says [Post Tech: Washington Post] — Comcast has been actively involved in the conversation.
• End near? Comcast, NBC meet with FCC, Justice on proposed Internet video conditions [Post Tech: Washington Post] — “Comcast and NBC Universal executives met earlier this week with senior staff from both the Federal Communications Commission and Justice Department on proposed conditions on Internet video distribution”
• Comcast tests new way to navigate TV shows [Company Town: LA Times] H/T Philly Tech News
• Genachowski: Dec. 21 Net Neutrality Vote “Essential” [Broadcasting and Cable] — “FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said Tuesday that it is “essential that we move forward next week to adopt the first enforceable rules of the road to protect Internet freedom.” That came at the Generation Mobile forum on texting and kids.”
• What’s Inside Comcast’s Parker Box? [Light Reading]

WORTH NOTING

• Universal Not in Talks to Sell Focus Features [Hollywood Reporter] — “While the Gores brothers have made an informal proposal to buy Focus, due to the pending merger of the NBC Universal assets with Comcast, any deal is unlikely in the midst of regulatory reviews. “
• Writers on E! and other Comcast cable networks vote for guild representation [Company Town: LA Times]
• Xfinity Mobile App Version 3.0 Now Available [Comcast blog]
• Comcast, NBCU, and Asian American Leaders Join to Expand Media Diversity and Community Engagement [Comcast blog]
• Comcast Tests Pricing For 105-Mbps Tier [Multichannel News]
• Comcast: Restructuring likely will not result in any lost jobs [Times Herald, Montgomery County, Pa.]  — “Though its Oaks location will likely remain functional in other capacities, Comcast Corp. is shifting operations away from the cable division headquarters there in efforts to pare its four operating divisions down to three.” H/T PTN

Every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup. Get an e-mail subscription for our Comcast news updates.

DEFINITE READS

• Comcast Puts Tollbooth on Net Video, Says Backbone Provider [Epicenter: Wired] Colorado-based online video streaming service Level 3, which has NetFlix as a primary client, accuses Comcast of charging unfair rates. Comcast says it’s a standard rate negotiation.
• 10 Facts About Peering, Comcast and Level 3 [Comcast blog]
• What The Comcast/Level 3 Fracas Is Really About: Money [Tech Crunch]

More on the Level 3 dispute, another profile of anointed Comcast lead of NBC Universal Stephen Burke and more.

MIGHT BE OF INTEREST

• Comcast, Level 3, Netflix, the FCC: Busy week for neutrality debate [Philadelphia Business Journal] — Broader context.
• Why Does Everyone Hate Comcast? [Gigaom] — Offering a timeline of net neutrality criticisms, leading to Level 3 allegations
• Netflix Partner Says Comcast ‘Toll’ Threatens Online Video Delivery [Media Decoder: New York Times]
• FCC looks into Level 3-Comcast spat over online video [Post Tech: Washington Post] — As the FCC announces plans to move back into the net neutrality debate.
• Meet the Un-Mogul Reinventing TV [Advertising Age] — “Steve Burke Will Decide What You See and How You’ll See It — and Change the Ad Model in the Process” H/T Philly Tech News

WORTH NOTING

• Comcast outage hits Boston, East Coast cities [PC World ] — “Comcast’s cable Internet service on the U.S. east coast was hit with problems late Sunday that left many users unable to access the Internet.” H/T PTN
• Comcast Seeks Suspension Of Dish Arbitration Order Against Three RSNs [Multichannel News]
• How Internet Peering works [Comcast blog] — Watch the video below.

Every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup. Get an e-mail subscription for our Comcast news updates.

DEFINITE READS

• Comcast executive: self-regulation, not government mandates, for Internet [Post Tech: Washington Post] — “Comcast executive vice president David Cohen will deliver a speech in Washington on Monday, where he will stress the role of self-regulation of the Internet.”
• Verizon echoes Comcast: Feds shouldn’t reign over Internet service providers [Post Tech: Washington Post] Tom Tauke, Verizon’s executive vice president of public affairs, says: “After haggling over the issue for over five years, we are essentially in the same place we were when this debate started… There still is no identifiable problem to be solved, and instead, as predicted, technology and market forces are ensuring that access to the Internet is open to consumers, as well as to developers of content and services.”
• Who Should Govern the Internet? [Comcast blog] — David L. Cohen says “The more important the Internet becomes, the more discussion, debate and pressure grows for more government involvement. In my talk at Brookings, I will suggest a path that relies primarily on the consensus-based self-governance model that has typified the Internet since its founding as a better alternative…” And follow up on the Comcast blog regarding the panel that followed Cohen’s keynote address.

Below, Comcast said to struggle with the Hollywood entertainment ecosystem, NBCU reshuffling detailed and more.

MIGHT BE OF INTEREST

• Comcast’s clumsy Hollywood kickoff [Variety] — “NBC U has deficiencies in various key areas, but the company has enjoyed enough success — particularly in cable — to create well-regarded stars within its executive ranks. Keeping them all happy — along with their new corporate Comcast siblings — was inevitably going to present a thorny challenge. ” H/T Philly Tech News
• Comcast prepared to give Ted Harbert big NBC job [LA Times] — “Comcast’s Steve Burke has been putting the finishing touches on his new management team, which would install two veteran programmers — Bob Greenblatt and Ted Harbert — to run the troubled broadcast network. Each would report to Burke.”
• Comcast Reshuffles NBC’s Deck: Who’s Up, Down And Out [Forbes] — “After many months of speculating, plotting and jockeying for position, the results of Steve Burke’s reshuffled deck are about to be unveiled.”
• Lawmakers weigh TV fees bill, some call television market broken [Post Tech: Wasington Post] — Sen. John “Jay” Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) “said cable and satellite prices have risen at a pace three times that of inflation in recent years.”
• War over? Comcast says “Consensus at hand on net neutrality” [Ars Technica] — A cheeky criticism of Comcast executives suggesting consensus for a still thorny issue.

GIVE A GLANCE

• RPT-Comcast talks with regulators on NBC deal heat up [Reuters] — “Comcast is pushing to close the deal by year-end, the sources said.”
• Regulators eye Internet, program conditions to Comcast-NBC merger, sources say [Post Tech: Washington Post ] — “Federal regulators have told Comcast and NBC Universal that they have significant concerns that a proposed merger will harm competition in the cable and satellite market and the nascent but fast-growing Internet TV industry, according to sources familiar with the reviews.”
• Google, Verizon, Comcast Hindered Network Neutrality: FCC Chairman [eWeek] — “FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said the Comcast ruling and Google and Verizon’s separate plan threw a hitch in his agency’s own network neutrality plans.”
• On Demand: Dickish Behavior [Portland Mercury] — An op-ed says “Comcast is being a total dick,” because several public access services, funded by Comcast as part of an agreement for exclusive franchise rights for the Portland area, may be lost because negotiations with city governments are slowing.
• Consumer 10.0: NBCU takeover only one of Comcast’s fights [Inquirer]
• Comcast: Google TV Isn’t Compatible With Our ‘TV Everywhere’ Service [Multichannel News]
• Hulu Plus launches, cuts price — look out Comcast and Netflix? [Seattle Times] — “After lots of testing, the hit online video site Hulu today launched its Hulu Plus pay service for $7.99 per month.”
• Comcast’s Tunerfish social TV app gets a new face [MediaBeat] — “Today, the company announced a bunch of upgrades that general manager John McCrea said should lead to more sign-ups and growth.”
• Comcast Sports, Sporting News team up [Philadelphia Business Journal] — “Comcast Sports Group said Wednesday it has formed a partnership with Sporting News magazine on regional editions of a daily digital magazine.
• Comcast’s new iPad app to show TV listings [Psysorg.com] — “It’s the newspaper TV grid on electronic steroids. “
• In a stirring and dramatic piece of video, a Comcast engineer talks about developing that new iPad app. Watch it below.

When there is just too much Comcast news to follow, the Comcast Roundup will be there every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST

Every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup. Get an e-mail subscription for our Comcast news updates.

DEFINITE READS

• The Sports Business Journal makes five predictions about what will happen when Comcast runs the NBC Sports show. H/T LA Times
• The Washington Post reports that a decision on controversial ‘net neutrality’ rules has been delayed by the FCC until after the November elections.

Below, more angles on the future of online video, how Comcast exists in the news ecosystem and more.

MIGHT BE OF INTEREST

• The Business Journal also reports that a survey called Comcast one of the region’s best places to work, and so we’re making a call to find other great technology places to work.
• The Associated Press reports a survey paid for by Comcast that found 62 percent of viewers across the country who answered the poll use DVR-like technology to watch shows at times other than when they’re scheduled.
• Harvard’s Nieman Jornalism Lab writes about the ‘newsonomics of news orgs surrounded by non-news,” including Comcast likely takeover of NBC News.
• Philly Tech News aggregates nearly a dozen other Comcast stories of the week, including more on the future of online video.

GIVE A GLANCE

• The Boston Herald reports that in New England Comcast is in a battle with other regional networks in creating their own lifestyle shows.
• The Philadelphia Business Journal reports that Comcast-Spectacor named former Comcast Cable senior vice president of programming Russ Chandler to be the sports and entertainment firm’s new CFO.
• Unplugged reports that Comcast is partnering with Novatel on wireless modems.
• Cable companies make comparison shopping ridiculously tough [LA Times]

When there is just too much Comcast news to follow, the Comcast Roundup will be there every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST

Every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup. Get an e-mail subscription for our Comcast news updates.

DEFINITE READS

• Zatz Not Funny reports on Comcast’s deal with Blockbuster to partner on DVDsbyMail to, you know, send DVDs by mail, and TechDirt wonders why.
• The New York Post reports that the FCC is readying a ‘net neutrality trap’ for Comcast.
• The Inquirer’s Bob Fernandez reports that Comcast has already spent $90 million on lobbying, advertising, lawyers and other costs pushing for approval of their acquisition of NBC.

Below, four months in prison for hacking Comcast, the most expensive rowhome purchase ever and more.

MIGHT BE OF INTEREST

• Multichannel News reports that Comcast has completed the first phase of its ‘Project Infinity’ video-on-demand network for D.C. and Philadelphia. H/T Philly Tech News
• E-Commerce Times has an opinion piece on ‘why AT&T and Comcast are changing their brands.”
• As we reported yesterday, Comcast COO Stephen Burke has reportedly made the most expensive Philadelphia rowhome purchase in the city’s history.

GIVE A GLANCE

• Wired magazine reports that a 2008 hack stunt sentenced a 21-year-old in prison for four months.
• The Inquirer reports that CEO Brian Roberts sold $11.4 million worth of Comcast stock, donating $1.4 million worth.
• The LA Times reports that the parent company of Politico and other D.C. media is “making noise” about the NBC acquisition.
• The Comcast company blog reports on their presence at BlogHer, the annual conference of mommy bloggers and other female-focused content.

When there is just too much Comcast news to follow, the Comcast Roundup will be there every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST