Is This What Fans of Streaming Can Look Forward To?

[Arkadin]

uh-oh.
can't wait until more of these type fights break out.
with the growing popularity of streaming looks like someone wants to get paid.
I'll stick with owning I think.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101130/...level3_comcast

[RoadLizard]

Just another A$$HOLE cable company screwing people or at least trying to. Too bad thats all going away soon. Cant wait for direct-purchase TV viewing where you only pay for what you want, when you want. From profvider right to our homes. No fockhead satellite or cable to worry about. Sweet!

[Rob71]

Hmm. I guess Netflix disc customers rates will be going up yet again to pay for the added cost of streaming.

[Grubert]

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/level-...at-stake/42186

Level 3 says:
Comcast is effectively putting up a toll booth at the borders of its broadband Internet access network, enabling it to unilaterally decide how much to charge for content which competes with its own cable TV and Xfinity delivered content. This action by Comcast threatens the open Internet and is a clear abuse of the dominant control that Comcast exerts in broadband access markets as the nation’s largest cable provider.

Comcast says:
What Level 3 wants is to pressure Comcast into accepting more than a twofold increase in the amount of traffic Level 3 delivers onto Comcast’s network — for free. In other words, Level 3 wants to compete with other Content Delivery Networks, but pass all the costs of that business onto Comcast and Comcast’s customers, instead of Level 3 and its customers [*cough*Netflix*cough*]

[ack_bak]

Someone is going to pay. My guess is that it will be Netflix consumers.

[GizmoDVD]

Hmm. I guess Netflix disc customers rates will be going up yet again to pay for the added cost of streaming.

Sounds good to me!

[ack_bak]

Sounds good to me!

Me too. I put my Netflix subscription on hold until the improve the quality of their streaming and start carrying more BD catalog titles.

[GizmoDVD]

Me too. I put my Netflix subscription on hold until the improve the quality of their streaming and start carrying more BD catalog titles.

I get 1080p and 5.1 now. Looks pretty damn good.

And good luck on BD catalog. Studios won't be cutting them a break on those.

[coldfoot]

It's about time Netflix stopped leeching off of ISP's like Comcast. Now when Verizon, Time Warner, etc. sees Comcast got money from L3, they'll ask for their share too. The streaming only plan will end up costing like $20/year and they'll have to have a separate tier for disc customers that don't want to pay for streaming.

The state of Netflix right now cannot last, and it's always going to cost your ISP less than Netflix to provide a streaming service, provided that they pay the same price to the studios for the same content. Now whether the ISP's are going to be smart about it and price them competitively is entirely another matter.

[GizmoDVD]

It's about time Netflix stopped leeching off of ISP's like Comcast. Now when Verizon, Time Warner, etc. sees Comcast got money from L3, they'll ask for their share too. The streaming only plan will end up costing like $20/year and they'll have to have a separate tier for disc customers that don't want to pay for streaming.

So $8 to $20? Right. That's a pretty big leap, especially with other alternatives (i.e. Hulu, Torrents etc.). But good one.

[Sbert]

What I wish we had instead of streaming, since my link stinks, is the ability to buy BD quality video digitally with all the bells and whistles, like:

10 dollars for movie - 1080p movie, 11 dollars for movies + extras, 12 dollars for all extras + lower resolution access - 720, 480, etc.

Lifetime access if needed.

[GizmoDVD]

What I wish we had instead of streaming, since my link stinks, is the ability to buy BD quality video digitally with all the bells and whistles, like:

10 dollars for movie - 1080p movie, 11 dollars for movies + extras, 12 dollars for all extras + lower resolution access - 720, 480, etc.

Lifetime access if needed.

VuDu is 1080p, DD+, and (I think) sometimes comes with some Special Features (though it may be limited to select titles). Though I think most HDX purchases are $15-$20 (i.e. No one in their right mind would buy them). iTunes might be a bit cheaper, but since I have zero reasons to 'own' a Digital copy, I never really looked.

[Rob71]

Sounds good to me!

I decided to embrace streaming with my Netflix account. I'm dropping my disc plan and going streaming exclusive. I really hope enough people do this. Let the streaming advocates get a dose of reality when there is no one else to shoulder the burden for them. This is all Comcast is doing. Leveling the playing field. Let's not forget Starz either. They are going to get more also. Going to be real interesting the next couple of years. Besides, Redbox is doing very good with Blu-ray in my area. I have quite a few kiosks around me with 25-40 BD titles each. Plenty of selection.

[Cochise]

It's about time Netflix stopped leeching off of ISP's like Comcast. Now when Verizon, Time Warner, etc. sees Comcast got money from L3, they'll ask for their share too. The streaming only plan will end up costing like $20/year and they'll have to have a separate tier for disc customers that don't want to pay for streaming.

Hogwash. That's what Comcast customers are paying for - bandwidth. It should make no difference to Comcast if their customers use the bandwidth they are paying for with Netflix, VOIP telephone, Bittorrent, Blockbuster on Demand or Amazon on Demand. The only difference was that Netflix/Level 3 was an easy target for extortion. I'm sure Comcast has a monthly bandwidth cap in their TOS, if their customers exceed it for any traffic, they should charge their customers more. Why should a heavy user pay the same monthly fee as a little old lady who just uses the internet for email and pics of the grand kids?

I have little sympathy for Netflix, hated their service, but have absolutely no sympathy for Comcast. I wish Level 3 had held their ground and Comcast blocked Netflix, so they could watch their customers flee to competing ISPs in droves.

[PSound]

You are missing the point if you think this is going to impact Netflix's rates.

Comcast already charges CDNs extra for access to their users. Level 3 just went from being a provider to Comcast to being a consumer of Comcast.


What this is about is Level 3 getting BETTER rates than others from Comcast. Level 3 knows that Comcast is trying to get approval for their acquisition of NBC/Universal. They also know that people love Netflix streaming. By pushing this story, they just put tremendous pressure on Comcast to cut them a better deal. I have already seen multiple posts of this story on Facebook including petitions to the FCC. Public interest groups are going to jump all over this as an example of why the Comcast - NBC/Universal deal should be killed.

Comcast is going to want to bury this story fast and the only way to do that is to get back to the table with Level 3 and cut them a better deal.

The net impact to Netflix customers will be negligible, but the impact to Netflix and their partners will be lower costs than previously expected. Expect a press release from Level 3 and Comcast in the next couple of weeks stating that they have worked out a deal (but with little or no details).