Is Comcast taking over the world?

[ToomuchStuff]

Google currently, directly competes with Time Warner, but I am not sure about Comcast (not sure all the boundaries) locally/regionally. Also Google does have a business relationship with Comcast (its search provider). The last thing that wasn't search, that I knew Yahoo competed against, was Ebay, back when Yahoo had an auction section.
I wish I had seen what Steve saw. I find that argument interested, since just a few years ago, Comcast and Time Warner swapped some service area's.

[Gregg]

I don't think so on the "tier" and "package" deals. Usually monopolistic industry means less choice for the consumer, not more. That idea sounds lot like a la carte pricing which I would have loved to have seen when I was their cable customer. But as they were the only cable provider in town they were not inclined to offer customers the choice to purchase less of their product.

I don't think ala carte would be a trend regardless of how ownership shakes out. ESPN costs ~$5 per subscriber per month whether you watch it or not. Its welfare for sports junkies. Move to ala carte and the 10 million true fans would have to ante up without the subsidy from the other 190 million of us that couldn't care less. (BTW, these accurate statistics were completely made up.)

We cut the cord last year and, except for the occasional cooking show, haven't looked back. What I need is a way to cut the internet cord and, at the same time, get gigabit speed for free. Dare to dream.

[SteveinMN]

I wish I had seen what Steve saw. I find that argument interested, since just a few years ago, Comcast and Time Warner swapped some service area's.

Here's a link (comments pro and con; I tried to choose a neutral source) explaining market shares and some of Comcast's comments. Since I wrote my last response, I did learn that Comcast's ownership of NBC has put some additional restrictions on them to preserve network neutrality. But IMHO that only slightly mitigates the negatives.

[SteveinMN]

What I need is a way to cut the internet cord

I believe that's the elephant in the room in this deal. The cable companies have become almost more essential for providing broadband Internet access than they are for providing round-the-clock TV. For us, cutting out cable would save us a whopping $9 a month off a $65 bill. It's a nothingburger.

Internet access has become a utility, much like gas & electric. Yet the oversight applied to broadband access is minimal despite providers enjoying a geographic monopoly. And the costs of entry (e.g., a Google buildout of fiber to cover even a fraction of the customers covered by Comcast/Time Warner) are daunting. Really, Internet service should be treated like other public utilities. It's yet another instance (like HD TV standards and mobile-phone transmission standards) in which the U. S. let private companies lead the market, and it has resulted in a balkanized and expensive market for consumers.