I goota vent about the Comcast Netflix thing

Community Tech Policy & News
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I was messing around with Reddit today (4/28/14) and came across the following article:

Comcast accuses Netflix of lying as public feud escalates (actual link: http://blog.sfgate.com/techchron/2014/04/25/comcast-accuses-netflix-of-lying-as-public-feud-escalates )

Right off the bat, the author states the following:

" Netflix and Comcast, two companies that are supposed to be business partners, are waging an unusually public feud.

WTF?!!! "Comcast and Netflix are business partners"?! Did I just read that right?

I tried to post a reply but was unable to do so because of all the digital hoops and potential horrible scripts that I had to expose my browser to in order to create an account (which I had no intention of keeping). But the article really hit me since it does seem to indicate the level of stupidity some people have -- even certain people in the "ground zero" tech community (those in and around Silicon Valley). And it disturbed me.

I think most of us here know what Logan and Wendell's position on ISP's like Comcast are -- unfavorable. And I think they have done an excellent job of explaining why they take their positions as well as what the problems are. But they are, after all, just two video bloggers without much voice (translation: money). Even so, they have called upon each of us to take action and help get the word out. But when I come across a web site with perhaps a much larger audience that has more to do with advertising than anything to do with any real tech reporting (not here!) I am left wondering how to do that other than to write letters in purple envelopes.

I do not have and do not want a Facebook or a Twitter account. I could write books on my objections with social media but suffice it to say that these two entities do seem to be required in order to give anyone a voice in the larger digital ether (again, not necessarily here - and a hearty hank you to Wendell and Logan for that too).

Here is the reply I tried to post. (Perhaps someone with an account can post it for me?)

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WHAT?!

Comcast and Netflix, "BUSINESS PARTNERS"?!!!

What have you been smoking?

Netflix is just a large targeted fool who Comcast just recently fleeced (coerced and stole money from). And we all know how fools and money usually work -- they don't stay together for very long.

If anything, Netflix is a COMPETITOR to Comcast. Netflix simply offers a "service" via a RESOURCE called "the Internet." However, for most people, the only way to use Netflix's service is with a high speed Internet connection that is more or less provided by a CABLE COMPANY -- usually Comcast or Time Warner (who, on a related story, are looking to merge).

This arrangement of Internet and Cable TV is also called a "CONFLICT OF INTEREST" because the two "services" -- Internet ACCESS and cable TV -- potentially compete with each other when you look at the content and entities like Netflix, Hulu or nearly any other streaming media service including YOUTUBE! And yet, BOTH services (Internet and cable TV) are only offered by ONE COMPANY -- probably because BOTH services are delivered using nearly the EXACT SAME TECHNOLOGY over the SAME WIRE!

And when ISP's like Comcast call themselves an Internet Service Provider (ISP) it's also something of a misnomer since no cable company actually provides the CONTENT or services OF the Internet. Rather these "ISP's" simply provide access TO the content (where "their content" may have been illegally made available - but then that's a whole other argument).

So could you please do your homework before writing these inaccurate articles? Point here is that Comcast and Netflix are -- and never were -- business partners, although I will admit my ignorance when it comes to Wall Street-like business entities. It's really a still-developing story of how an up and coming rich fool like Netflix has just been robbed by an above the law mega THIEF calling itself Comcast.

... And don't expect the FCC to be of any help here either. They're 0 for 2 and about to strike out (if this were a baseball game).

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... Sorry for the caps as the site didn't have a way I could use italics or bold type.

 

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Netfilx and Comcast are not technically competitors. Neftlix is a content provider and is in the entertainment market, while Comcast is in the ISP business. Where you are correct though is that they certainly have a conflict of interest. Netflix's goal is to deliver content as quickly as possible to as large an audience as possible, and Comcast's is to simply make money by charging for bandwidth.

 


Where the grey area lies is do we consider Netflix and Comcast to be "partners". I don't know why this matter of classification is important, but my opinion is yes.


Now that Netflix has paid off Comcast they should be considered partners. Whether this is a fair partnership or not is irrelevant (though obviously it is not). They are partners in the sense that one now relys on the other for business. Previously since Netflix did not need to pay off anyone to reach its viewers effectively, its content distribution could be considered equal between all ISPs. Now that ISPs are restricting access to their viewers by imposing extra charges, a "partnership" could be necessary for Netflix to retain its original audience level.

 



I think you may be confusing the word "partnership" with a sense of equality. This does not have to be true in a business environment. People can call the relationship between Netflix and Comcast what every they want, as long as they know what is going on.

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yeah i think you took the wrong meaning from that.

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I disagree! Because if Comcast and Netflix are "partners" then so too are every other entities traffic that flows through Comcast's "last mile." Look at it this way: YouTube and Comcast are not partners yet YouTube is delivered over the exact same pathways that Netflix is. So why is Netflix a "partner" and YouTube not? I say it's because Netflix decided to be a victim and give in to Comcast's strong-arm tactics. Nothing more. I would no more call these arrangements partnerships than I would call a robbery a partnership.