Captive Audience: The Telecom Industry and Monopoly Power in the New Gilded Age (56 page)

36.
“Comcast's CEO Discusses Q1 2012 Results—Earnings Call Transcript,” May 2, 2012,
Seeking Alpha
,
http://seekingalpha.com/article/551371-comcast-s-ceo-discusses-q1-2012-results-earnings-call-transcript
.

37.
Nathan Becker, “Comcast Bringing Live TV to Tablets,”
Wall Street Journal, Digits
(blog), January 5, 2011,
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2011/01/05/comcast-bringing-live-tv-to-tablets/
.

38.
“Microsoft has sold 50 million Xbox 360s since the console's release in 2005 and it has sold 10 million Kinect sensors, its own motion-control device” (Matt Richtel, “Game Systems Upgraded at a Cost-Conscious Pace,”
New York Times
, May 2, 2011).

39.
Charlie Rose, “Charlie Rose Talks to Jeffrey Bewkes,”
Bloomberg Business Week
, April 28, 2011,
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_19/b4227021650715.htm
.

Chapter 9. The Biggest Squeeze of All

Epigraph. Kelly Riddell, “Malone Sees Pay-TV Industry Consolidation as Fee Disputes Mount,”
Bloomberg
, March 19, 2010,
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aWetzLpEbhUo
.

1.
“The Comcast/NBC Universal Merger: What Does the Future Hold for Competition and Consumers”: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights of the Committee on the Judiciary
,” 111th Cong. 12 (2010) (Statement of Senator Herb Kohl).

2.
Ibid., 24 (Testimony of Andrew Jay Schwartzman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Media Access Project) [hypen added to “over-the-top”].

3.
Jason Kilar, “Doing Hard Things,”
Hulu
(blog), February 18, 2009,
http://blog.hulu.com/2009/02/18/doing-hard-things/
.

4.
Jason Kilar, “Q2,”
Hulu
(blog). July 6, 2011,
http://blog.hulu.com/2011/07/06/q2/
; Adam McCrimmon, “2011 Digital Review,”
hyconnect
, January 8, 2012,
http://www.hyc.com/blog/2011-digital-review/
.

5.
“
The Comcast/NBC Universal Merger
,” 23 (Testimony of Brian L. Roberts, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Comcast Corporation).

6.
Meg James, “Comcast Will Retain NBC's Stake in Hulu, but Is Stripped of Control,”
Los Angeles Times
, January 18, 2011, available at
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2011/01/comcast-will-retain-nbcs-stake-in-hulu-but-is-stripped-of-control.html
; Tony Greenberg, “Jumping Through Hoops with Hulu: Will Hollywood Studios Kill Their Offspring Again?”
Jack Myers Media Business Report
, September 26, 2011,
http://www.jackmyers.com/jackmyers-think-tank/Jumping-Through-Hoops-with-Hulu-Will-Hollywood-Studios-Kill-Their-Offspring-Again—-Tony-Greenberg.html
.

7.
Ibid., 8–10, 28 (Statement and testimony of Brian L. Roberts), and 10–12 (Statement of Jeff Zucker, President and Chief Executive Officer, NBC Universal).

8.
Stefan Anninger, Jonathan Chaplin, and Tom Champion, “Broadband Wars” (New York, NY: Credit Suisse, October 19, 2010), 8.

9.
“Report on Cable Industry Prices” (Washington, D.C.: Federal Communications Commission, February 14, 2011).

10.
Dorothy Pomerantz, “12 Million Households Expected to Cut the Cord by 2015,”
Forbes
, July 20, 2011, available at
http://www.forbes.com/sites/dorothypomerantz/2011/07/20/12-million-households-expected-to-cut-the-cord-by-2015/
.

11.
“CMCSA: Comcast Corporation at Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference,” conference call, March 2, 2011, transcript, 4, available at
http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/CMCSA/0x0x447538/c20eba7d-049c-4dc7-a5cd-873f880b42bb/Comcast_MS_Transcript_3.3.11.pdf
.

12.
United States, State of California, State of Florida, State of Missouri, State of Texas, and State of Washington v. Comcast Corp., General Electric Co., and NBC Universal, Inc.
, No. 1:11-00106 (D.C.C., January 18, 2011), 1 (Competitive Impact Statement).

13.
Deborah Yao, “Comcast CFO: Not Interested in Acquiring Wireless Network,”
SNL Insurance Daily
, September 21, 2011.

14.
Alan Quayle, “70% rise in NFL fee to ESPN will Herald a New Round of Cord Cutting,”
Insights on the Telecom Industry
(blog), December 7, 2011,
http://www.alanquayle.com/blog/2011/12/70-rise-in-espn-fee-to-the-nfl.html
.

15.
Steve Adams, “Cable, Satellite TV Prices Continue to Rise,”
Patriot Ledger
, April 18, 2011, available at
http://www.wickedlocal.com/bourne/news/business/x432885704/Cable-satellite-TV-prices-continue-to-rise#axzz1ntkjm2Fd
.

16.
Mike Farrell, “Analyst: Comcast Could Own 100% of NBCU by 2014,”
Multichannel News
, December 17, 2009,
http://benton.org/node/30689
.

17.
“Comcast's CEO Discusses Q4 2011 Results—Earnings Call Transcript,” question and answer session,
Seeking Alpha
, February 15, 2012, available at
http://seekingalpha.com/article/368451-comcast-s-ceo-discusses-q4-2011-results-earnings-call-transcript?part=qanda
.

18.
“CMCSA,” 4.

19.
Martin Peers, “Heard on the Street: Comcast Could Suffer from Universal Access,”
Wall Street Journal
, September 30, 2010, available at
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704116004575522141414844222.html
.

20.
Grant Gross, “What's in the FCC's New Net Neutrality Rules?”
Computer World
, December 27, 2010,
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9202519/What_s_in_the_FCC_s_new_Net_neutrality_rules_
.

21.
Yinka Degoke and Lisa Richwine, “Exclusive: Netflix in Talks for Cable Partnership,”
Reuters
, March 6, 2012.

22.
Don Reisinger, “Time Warner Cable Tries to Cap Broadband Data Usage—Again,”
CNET News
, February 29, 2012,
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-57387445-17/timewarner-cable-tries-to-cap-broadband-data-usage-again/
.

23.
Adam Wajnberg, “Why Is My Internet Connection So Slow?”
Broadband News
, February 20, 2012,
http://www.comparebroadband.com.au/article_1300_Why-is-my-internet-connection-so-slow.htm
.

24.
Tillman L. Lay, “Taking Another Look at Federal/State Jurisdictional Relationships in the New Broadband World,” National Regulatory Research Institute, September 11–15, 2011, 16, available at
http://www.spiegelmcd.com/files/20111003_NRRI_Broadband_2011_10_14_02_00_32.pdf
.

25.
“Netflix Letter to Shareholders,” January 26, 2011, available at
http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/NFLX/1144945482x0x437075/925e81c4-3d5d-44b6-ae5e-a70c91251131/Q410%20Letter%20to%20shareholders.pdf
.

26.
Karl Bode, “Shaw ‘Listens,’ Proceeds with UsageBilling Anyway,”
DSLReports.com
, April 21, 2011,
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Shaw-Listens-Proceeds-With-UsageBilling-Anyway-113858
.

27.
Broadband Performance
, OBI Technical Paper no. 4. (Washington, D.C.: Federal Communications Commission, August, 2010), 11–15.

28.
Jared Moya, “Canada Approves Consumption-Based Billing,”
ZeroPaid.com
, May 7, 2010,
http://www.zeropaid.com/news/89044/canada-approves-consumption-based-billing/
.

29.
Josh Sanburn, “Why Verizon Dropped Its Unlimited Data Plan (And What You Can Do About It),”
Time.com
, June 23, 2011,
http://moneyland.time.com/2011/06/23/why-verizon-dropped-its-unlimited-data-plan/
.

30.
Jamie Sturgeon, “Taking Fire, Bell Insists Internet Caps Suitable for ‘Vast Majority,’”
Financial Post
, January 31, 2011, available at
http://business.financialpost.com/2011/01/31/taking-fire-bell-insists-internet-caps-suitable-for-vast-majority/
.

31.
Etan Viessing, “Bell Canada to End Internet Traffic Throttling,”
Hollywood Reporter
, December 20, 2011, available at
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/bell-canada-end-internet-traffic-275721
.

32.
Michael Geist, “Unpacking the Policy Issues Behind Bandwidth Caps & Usage Based Billing,”
MichaelGeist
(blog), February 1, 2011,
http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/5611/125/
.

33.
Cory Doctorow, “Canadian ISPs Admit That Their Pricing Is Structured to Discourage Internet Use,”
Boingboing.net
, March 29, 2011,
http://www.boingboing.net/2011/03/29/canadian-isps-admit.html
.

34.
“CRTC Rejects Plan for Wholesale Internet Billing,”
CTV.ca
, November 15, 2011,
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/SciTech/20111115/crtc-decision-independent-internet-providers-111115/
.

35.
Michael Lewis, “Bell Backs off on Internet Billing,”
Moneyville.ca
, March 28, 2011,
http://www.moneyville.ca/article/963044—bell-backs-off-on-internet-billing?bn=1
.

36.
Neil Hunt, “Netflix Lowers Data Usage by 2/3 for Members in Canada,”
Netflix, US & Canada
(blog), March 28, 2011,
http://blog.netflix.com/2011/03/netflix-lowers-data-usage-by-23-for.html
.

37.
Geist, “Unpacking the Policy Issues.”

38.
Jesse Brown, “Bell Toots an Extinguisher on UBB, Netflix Pours Gasoline,”
Macleans.ca
, March 29, 2011,
http://www2.macleans.ca/2011/03/29/bell-toots-an-extinguisher-on-ubb-netflix-pours-gasoline/
.

39.
Devendra T. Kumar, counsel for Netflix, Inc., to Federal Communications Commission, WC Docket No. 07-52, May 10, 2011, 6.

40.
Michael Geist, “Door Opens for Internet Providers to Truly Compete,”
Toronto Star
, November 19, 2011, available at
http://www.thestar.com/article/1089576—door-opens-for-internet-providers-to-truly-compete
.

41.
Todd Spangler, “Time Warner Cable Postpones Internet-Billing Trials,”
Multichannel News
, April 16, 2009,
http://www.multichannel.com/article/196377-Time_Warner_Cable_Postpones_Internet_Billing_Trials.php
.

42.
Julius Genachowski, “Remarks on Preserving Internet Freedom and Openness,” Federal Communications Commission, December 1, 2010, available at
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_/files/06/15/76/f061576/public/attachmatch/DOC-303136A1.pdf
.

43.
Todd Shields, “AT&T Gains FCC's Ear as Regulators Near Decision on Net Neutrality Rules,”
Bloomberg
, November 30, 2010,
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-30/at-t-gains-fcc-s-ear-as-regulators-near-decision-on-net-neutrality-rules.html
.

44.
Applications of Comcast Corporation, General Electric Company and NBC Universal, Inc. for Consent to Assign Licenses and Transfer Control of Licensees
, Federal Communications Commission, MB Docket No. 10-56, January 18, 2011, 38.

45.
Karl Bode, “Exclusive: AT&T To Impose Caps, Overages,”
DSLReports.com
, March 13, 2011,
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Exclusive-ATT-Will-Soon-Impose-150GB-DSL-Cap-Overages-113149
.

46.
Xfinity Network Management Policy, “Announcement Regarding an Amendment to Our Acceptable Use Policy,”
Xfinity.comcast.net
,
http://xfinity.comcast.net/terms/network/amendment/
.

47.
Karl Bode, “AT&T to Kill Grandfathered Unlimited if You Tether Unofficially,”
DSLReports.com
, August 4, 2011,
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/ATT-to-Kill-Grandfathered-Unlimited-If-You-Tether-Unofficially-115528
.

48.
Federal Communications Commission, “Public Notice: FCC Enforcement Bureau and Office of General Counsel Issue Advisory Guidance for Compliance with Open Internet Transparency Rule,” news release, June 30, 2011, available at
http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2011/db0630/DA-11-1148A1.pdf
.

49.
John Eggerton, “Top Op's Top Washington Exec Has ‘High Hopes’ for Commission Under Genachowski,”
Multichannel News
, July 30, 2009.

50.
Cisco's John Chapman presented a paper at the National Cable & Telecommunications Association Cable Show in Boston in May 2012, written jointly by CISCO, ARRIS, and MOTO, claiming that the next-generation DOCSIS cable platforms could achieve a capacity of ten gigabits per second (download) and two gigabits per second (upload). See Jeff Baumgartner, “Does Docsis have a 10-Gig Future?”
Light Reading Cable
, May 23, 2012,
http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=221264&site=lr_cable
.