The quest to conquer Time Warner Cable – The Verge

Comcast announces Time Warner Cable deal is dead

2015-04-24T08:36:45-04:00

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Comcast has officially abandoned its $45 billion merger with Time Warner Cable, after encountering resistance from regulators. "Today, we move on. Of course, we would have liked to bring our great products to new cities, but we structured this deal so that if the government didn't agree, we could walk away," said Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts in a statement. "Comcast NBC Universal is a unique company with strong momentum. Throughout this entire process, our employees have kept their eye on the ball and we have had fantastic operating results. I want to thank them and the employees of Time Warner Cable for their tireless efforts. I c …

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Exclusive: politicians are supporting Comcast’s TWC merger with letters ghostwritten by Comcast

2015-01-26T11:46:03-05:00

On August 21st, 2014, Mayor Jere Wood of Roswell, Georgia, sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission expressing emphatic support for Comcast's controversial effort to merge with Time Warner Cable. Not only did the mayor's letter express personal excitement for the gargantuan deal - which critics say will create a monopoly that will harm millions of consumers - but it also claimed that the entire town of Roswell adored Comcast. "When Comcast makes a promise to act, it is comforting to know that they will always follow through," Wood's letter explained. "This is the type of attitude that makes Roswell proud to be involved with suc …

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Time Warner Cable and Comcast rank as worst companies for customer satisfaction

2014-12-30T11:12:21-05:00

Comcast and Time Warner Cable are once again at the bottom of the American Consumer Satisfaction Index, ranking them as the companies whose customers are most disappointed with the quality of their products and services. The new rankings were reported in MarketWatch, which says that TWC's internet service was lowest on the list, followed by TWC's TV service, and then Comcast's internet service.

What happens when the two worst companies combine?

That Comcast and TWC are at the bottom of the list should be of very little surprise. Comcast is so notoriously awful that it actually appointed someone to focus specifically on improving its interact …

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Comcast hands out ‘priority assistance’ cards to Washington power players

2014-12-22T14:15:07-05:00

The controversial Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger hinges on regulatory approval from the FCC and the Department of Justice, both of which are based in Washington, DC. It will come as no surprise that Comcast is trying to ingratiate itself to the DC elite by passing out cards with "priority assistance" codes to select staffers, journalists, and other influential citizens of the nation's capital, which can help expedite service for the select few who posses the cards.

In an excellent report by Luke Mullins of the Washingtonian detailing how former Meet The Press moderator David Gregory lost his job, Mullins notes how Comcast is a much more h …

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FCC extends comment period for Comcast–TWC merger because Comcast filed a really long document

2014-10-03T15:56:51-04:00

The Federal Communications Commission is extending the time you'll have to file a comment on whether you think that Comcast and Time Warner Cable should be allowed to merge. The reason behind the extension is that Comcast recently filed an enormous document containing new information with the commission. The commission actually refers to the thing as "voluminous," noting that it's nearly 850 pages long.

You can read the document when the FCC's site starts working again

The commission says that this new document contains information that is "critical to the review of the proposed transactions," and as such, more time is needed for the public …

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Comcast’s claim that LTE competes with cable modems is ‘a little bit of a stretch,’ says Verizon Wireless CEO

2014-08-04T17:02:52-04:00

In a discussion with reporters today, Verizon Wireless CEO Dan Mead hedged Comcast's claims that LTE is a viable competitor to traditional landline cable modems. Anyone who uses both knows that it's a ridiculous argument - LTE service is usually slower, less consistent, and comes with deeply restrictive data caps - but Comcast has been leaning on it as a supposed example of why competition is healthy in the broadband internet market. The end goal for the cable giant is to convince regulators that there's enough competition in high-speed internet service that its pending acquisition of Time Warner Cable won't create a monopoly or have a serio …

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New York State will conduct ‘thorough’ review of Comcast’s merger with Time Warner Cable

2014-05-19T11:51:49-04:00

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Governor Cuomo speaking about road and bridge construction last week | Governor Andrew Cuomo / Flickr

New York State will take a close look at Comcast's proposed purchase of Time Warner Cable, a deal that hangs on the approval of federal and state regulators, including those in New York, where TWC is based. Governor Andrew Cuomo said today that the state's Public Service Commission would be reviewing the purchase to see if it was in the interest of New York and those currently subscribing to TWC within the state. "The state is taking a hands-on review of this merger to ensure that New Yorkers benefit," Governor Cuomo says in a statement.

Review aims to ensure better service after the mergerThe commission's review is meant to ensure that Comc …

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Comcast could mandate a monthly data cap on all customers in the next five years

2014-05-14T20:30:28-04:00

Comcast says it could begin capping monthly data for all its customers within the next five years, a change that could potentially end up costing some heavy internet users additional fees. Speaking at a media summit in New York earlier today, Comcast executive David Cohen said that he expects the company to move entirely to a "usage-based billing model" in the next five years, while adding that most customers don't go over their monthly allotment.

"Very difficult to make predictions."

"I would also predict that the vast majority of our customers would never be caught in the buying the additional buckets of usage, that we will always want to …

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Comcast sells 1.4 million customers to Charter ahead of Time Warner Cable merger

2014-04-28T09:59:56-04:00

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In preparation for its pending buyout of Time Warner Cable, Comcast has agreed to transfer a portion of its post-merger subscribers to Charter Communications. The deal, which was rumored last week and confirmed this morning, will see roughly 1.4 million Time Warner Cable subscribers sold to Charter, expanding its 4.4 million video customer base to around 5.7 million, according to a statement. This addition would make Charter the second-largest cable operator in the US, though the new Comcast's 30 million video subscribers would still put its numbers to shame. In addition to this straightforward sale, the companies will also be swapping and s …

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Netflix opposes Comcast–TWC merger over ‘anticompetitive’ concerns

2014-04-21T17:15:05-04:00

Netflix has come out in opposition of Comcast's proposed purchase of Time Warner Cable, writing in a letter to shareholders that the merger would give the combined service provider "even more anticompetitive leverage" to charge businesses "arbitrary" fees before they can access customers. This view is, of course, no surprise: Netflix has already been pressured by Comcast into paying what it views as a net-neutrality violating fee in order to improve streaming service to its subscribers, and it's certainly fearful that it'll have to pay more of these down the road and that Comcast could even eventually come to directly compete on streaming wi …

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