Comcast to buy ...

Read in the Times today that Comcast would now have about 28 percent of all cable households, and that the feds see 30 percent as the redline for antitrust.

 

I think this is like McClatchey buying Knight Ridder. Subscription levles are going to start to decline due to competion from NetFlix- they already have at Time Warner- but costs will remain largely fixed.

 

Guess those Bill Cowher commercials worked. They convinced Comcast to go with TWC.

 

Instead of Kraft telling Wal Mart that a box of mac and cheese will cost Wal Mart $.50, Wal Mart is big enough to tell Kraft they will pay $.45. Kraft has to go along with this because they cannot have 30% or 40% of the grocery buyers in America (I forget the numbers, but that percentage is very high) not seeing Kraft on a shelf, so Kraft goes along with the price.

This is the same thing that might happen with cable channels. Now, will the savings trickle down to the consumer? Dunno.

 

It is still an interesting move, with the trend to more and more people cord cutting. There doesn't appear to be long-term growth for customers. Though revenues go up through higher cable bills. Seems like the more you charge, the more people will bail out, causing a slide in revenue.
If a customer bails, a cable or SatTV company has a lower base for ads and subscriptions.
I wouldn't be surprised if at some point it is the cable and SAT TV people that introduce ala carte options (paying only for the channels you want) if only to keep customers. They need to be in people's homes to make money.

 

Don't know how cable works in other parts of the country, but here in NJ, whatever cable company your town contracts with is the one you have to go with.
I've had Comcast for 6-7 years after having Cablevision for the previous 10+ and like Comcast's service and selection much better. Last year I finally cut the landline with Verizon and bundled everything with Comcast and right now am saving a nice chunk of money plus getting a higher tier of cable service.

 

It's funny you mention that. My dad worked for American Greetings and retired in 2000 or 2001. Even back then, he talked about Walmart being like that. He said Target or Walgreen's or the like would call, ask for a quote and when it could be delivered. Walmart called, told you what it was going to pay and when you better have it to them.

 

That's the way it is here. If you want cable, you go with Comcast. There is no other option except broadcast television or dish. I've had Comcast for about 20 years or so and haven't had any problems.

 

Due to its progressive nature, my town of Lexington has three (!) cable options, Comcast, RCN and Verizon. We have Verizon.

 

I cut the cable cord a while ago and made sure to have a cable Internet plan with plenty of speed and a high bandwidth cap monthly. I'm not paying $100 to have a cable package full of channels I don't watch. It's becoming too easy to stream, legally or illegally.