Comcast Roundup: Europeans OK NBC deal, saying customer service improved and More

Updated 7/15/10 @ 2:37 p.m.: WiMax product reporting

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 Philadelphia Business Journal reports that the European Commission has approved the Comcast-NBC Universal deal.
• Broadcasting and Cable reports that at this week’s Comcast-NBC deal public hearing in Chicago the focus turned to the deal’s potential impact on the future of online video. H/T Philly Tech News
• The Washington Post adds to the storyline of online video playing into the Comcast-NBC regulatory process, all after the Inquirer set the table on what the impact of the hearing was meant to be.

Below, get your $16, TV Everywhere is called ‘all hype’ and more.

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Comcast Roundup: Antitrust reviews begin of NBC deal, carrying ESPN 3d and More

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.

• The Washington Post reports that the Justice Department will begin an antitrust review of the Comcast-NBC merger.
• The Post also reports that a Senate Judiciary subcommittee and a host of other House and Senate panels want to review the deal.
• The Silicon Alley Insider reports that Comcast is in talks to carry ESPN’s announced 3d sports channel.

Below, the power of Comcast’s top attorney, the Tennis Channel is pissed and More.

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Comcast Roundup: Calling broadband stimulus packages ineligible, Yellow Pages on TV and More

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.

The Inqy’s DiStefano reports that Comcast submitted data yesterday to the federal government suggesting some proposals for broadband stimulus would duplicate its services and effectively subsidize competitors. The Daily Herald adds that the company says that may make those proposals ineligible. Relatedly, a series of Philadelphia proposals for that pot of money came up short.

New York Times media columnist David Carr suggests Comcast’s “likely” bid to buy a majority stake in NBC Universal is foolhardy. If it were to get through, the Inquirer’s Joe DiStefano writes on the undercurrent conversation about whether the federal government would even allow the deal to happen.

After the jump, the latest in net neutrality, video online news and ten other Comcast links to see, including video of Brian Roberts at the Web 2.0 summit.

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Comcast Roundup: Net Neutrality, raising prices “because it can” and More

Every Thursday morning, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup. Get an e-mail subscription to our Comcast news updates.

Net neutrality and Comcast’s role in that debate’s recent-most incarnation dominated mentions of the telecommunications giant this week.

The Federal Communications Commission will keep Comcast and others from limiting user Web traffic, according to sources of the Washington Post, which owned the coverage and suspected that decision as early as last week.

But the FCC’s call that they have the authority to rule that ISPs like Comcast cannot create user limitations is muddy, considering other recent actions from the bipartisan governing body, as Wired magazine reported. The pushback came from Comcast, by way of an open-letter written by company executive vice president David L. Cohen, as reported by the Inquirer.

CNet reported on growing House support for a net neutrality bill. MacWorld talked on just how quickly you could breeze through Comcast’s monthly 250-gb limit (H/T Philly Tech News).

We’ve said before that you know the Comcast story is big when Joey Sweeney gets in on it.

After the jump, Comcast raises prices “because it can,” Hulu trades business ideas and seven other Comcast news items for your perusing.

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Comcast Roundup: TV Everywhere rollout imminent, Comcast a “small player” and More

Every Thursday morning, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup.

Comcast’s TV Everywhere, the subscription-required streaming TV Web site that has seen collaboration from a host of big name content providers in recent months, is near enough to completion for ZDNet to report that it will be released on a limited basis in the next 30 to 60 days. Inquire business columnist Joe DiStefano brings to light an MSNBC story suggesting that online video competitor Hulu could be a natural partner to bolster the business, while others say the site should go it alone and charge for content.

After the jump, a Wharton professor calls Comcast a “small player,” the company seeks to acquire content creators and five other stories about the ‘Cast.

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Comcast Roundup: FCC 30 percent cap dropped, why Verizon stock sells higher and More

Every Thursday morning, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup.

Updated: 8/3/09 11:04 a.m. on search

paidContent reports that a federal appellate court overruled the Bush-era FCC mandate limiting a 30 percent cap on cable ownership, suggesting the door is left open for more consolidation. All eyes turned to Comcast, who the Silicon Valley Insider outright called a winner on the outcome and for whom the Inquirer story suggested it was a “moral” win. Reuters reported that the Philly MSO’s stock saw an uptick.

In this month’s Philadelphia magazine, stringer Vicki Glembocki profiles Andrew Beecham, the 46-year-old Brit turned Main Line-resident, who brought the Wiggles to Sprout — and gave Scott McNulty the chance to interview them — the preschool TV channel he created in 2005 and now for which he serves as vice president of programming. It’s an interesting piece on what is proving to be a big success in Comcast’s push to be a major player in content creation. We’d share a link, but couldn’t find it using a decidedly abysmal Phillymag search. So, buy a copy for goodness sake, or, you know, wait until I dig the link up. Update: The interesting profile can be seen here.

After the jump, interesting research on what keeps Comcast stock lower than those in less profitable markets, why some say TV Everywhere is bound to fail and three other Comcast pieces for the faithful.

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Comcast Roundup: Inqy helps bring Phillies baseball to retirement home, NBC Sports is pissed and More

Every Thursday morning, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup.

Ninety-four-year old Jessie Foyle probably wouldn’t get a personal patch into her beloved Phillies games from Comcast if not for old media, it might be fair to guess.

The “legendary” fan now lives in a city retirement home that has a subscription with DirecTV, which doesn’t send nearly as many televised games from the Phightins as the ‘Cast, but, as Inquirer columnist Dan Rubin wrote last week, Taylor got some special treatment after he wrote a column early this month about her dilemma.

Six residents and four guests showed up for the first showing against the Cubs, Rubin reported, after Comcast wired the home so they could get all the Phillies games.

“We made an exception with [her retirement home],” Jeff Alexander, a Comcast spokesman, told Rubin. “We took into consideration the fact that Mrs. Foyle is such a legendary fan and the property was quick to partner with us.”

Rubin, a newspaperman of the truest order and a Hell of a columnist to boot, brought the popcorn.

After the jump, more Comcast iPhone app buzz, ESPNU on board and eight more Comcast stories for the faithful.

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Comcast Roundup: TV Everywhere balloons, Shaq and Stein are back and More

Every Thursday morning, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup.

Seventeen more cable TV networks have agreed to put their content on Comcast’s TV Everywhere, the proposed online video service that would be offered to subscribers only. That brings the total to 23, according to the Associated Press.

Though some public discourse has remained skeptical of the authentication model, Comcast has continued to move forward with its unprecedented experiment of paid content on the Web.

HBO is in that number of participants. The cable channel recently announced it will put at least 750 hours of its programming on the service scheduled to be rolled out for 5,000 trial subscribers in coming weeks, as reported by the Philadelphia Business Journal. That’s nearly as high profile as the thunder heard after CBS announced it was following suit, as reported by MediaMemo, which followed Time Warner becoming the first big fish in the pond with Comcast. Others, like Starz, added their own buzz.

Details on the security of the system aren’t yet clear, but it’s unlikely 23 networks, including major players like Time Warner, CBS and HBO would join so quickly if something wasn’t clear.

After the jump, more social media praise, a Comcast technician turns to crime and six other stories for the faithful.

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Comcast Roundup: ‘Major’ challenges with TV Everywhere persist, no baseball for elderly and More

Every Thursday morning, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup.

We’re not quite done with this topic yet.

For two consecutive weeks, the biggest Comcast story has remained the same — it’s partnership with Time Warner to launch an online TV video streaming service that requires cable subscription authentication.

Major challenges remain in designing that authentication system, reports the Los Angeles Times. While broadcast networks like NBC have been quick to put their content online for free, cable providers, like Comcast, are eager to create a source of revenue online.

The L.A. Times also reports that the initiative, dubbed TV Everywhere, is proposed to include regular commercials, like broadcast TV, despite the trend online for fewer, shorter video advertisements. (Watch the CEOs of Comcast and Time Warner speak on the proposal after the jump.)

If you’re thinking of the online TV limit, think 500 hours, as Multichannel News reports. Web video watched through TV Everywhere will count toward the overall 250-gigabyte per month usage limit, which Comcast instituted last fall.

“According to my calculations, 250 Gbytes is enough for some 496 hours of high-quality video streaming, or the equivalent of 20 days of around-the-clock online-video watching,” wrote Todd Spangler.

While some executives have brushed the concern aside, the question of antitrust implications for the Comcast and Time Warner Internet-video collusion is real, Gigaom reports.

After the jump, keeping baseball from a 94-year-old fan, Comcast and Time Warner heads speak, and four other Comcast stories for the faithful.

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