It used to be that being in the cable business was a pretty sweet deal. There was not much competition for the TV portion of the business and selling broadband and voice products was getting to be a lucrative set of businesses as well. Phone companies could not do much to hang on to voice customers because cable-based VoIP cost the customers less.
That nice picture has gotten a bit cloudy lately. Shares in companies like Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) are falling as Verizon (NYSE: VZ) and AT&T (NYSE: T) are coming to market with fiber-to-the home broadband and TV products. Recent quarterly numbers from the phone companies show that they are having success getting new customers, most of which are probably coming from cable.
Now, the FCC wants to do more to break cable's back. According to The Wall Street Journal, "A section of the 1984 Cable Act says that when cable systems with 36 or more channels are available to 70% of households in the U.S. and 70% of those households subscribe to them, the commission may 'promulgate any additional rules necessary to promote diversity of information sources.'" That may mean that the commission could force cable to offer smaller channels carriage on their systems at lower rates. And, it could cause the government to block acquisitions by the larger cable companies to keep them from becoming more dominant.
Cable will, of course, fight any assault in Congress and the courts, if necessary.
The FCC is likely to get some concessions out of cable, if it does not get its way outright. Add that to the assault by big telephone companies and cable stocks may have seen their best days.
Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-12-2007 @ 7:17AM
chet said...
It is about time. We use Charter Communications, and they have no competition in the area we are located. As a result of that they keep increasing their prices, and they are getting away with it. Go Congress!
11-12-2007 @ 8:47AM
John Robinson said...
Comcast "sucks" call them and ask questions? They lie "LIKE A RUG" Ask the same question to them in 2 phone calls and the info is completely different...They spend more on TV ads then they do on customer service...I approve of hiring the Handicap, but don"t put them in customer service.
11-13-2007 @ 9:36PM
Marlin said...
I work for comcast and we strive to give our
customers the Excellant service they deserve.
We do what ever we half to give the customer
the excellant service we do.We work 24/7 to
give the customer the best service possible.
Comcast is a great company to work for and
all they care about is keeping their customer
happy.
12-12-2007 @ 3:09PM
Jackie said...
I like having Charter for my phone service...if the phone goes out they have only 6 hours to get it back on...not so with the phone companies, they have days.
Unless it is a major widespread outage, my Charter phone service is back on within 6 hours. I'll stay with Charter.
12-12-2007 @ 6:05PM
yohoj said...
i had comcast on 3 different occasions. each time was the same. they dont answer questions truthfully and they charge you out the roof. i had digital cable 2 of the times. i told them i just wanted basic cable and they told me if i get digital i wouldnt have to pay installation and its free the first three months. i cancelled after 2 months and disconnected the box. they were suppose to pick it up and they never did. and this was with both occasions. i kept recieving a bill for $90 and then a charge of $500 for the box that they never picked up. i was very upset that they were still charging me after i cancelled. so i had to drive almost 20miles just to return the box to comcast myself and they still didnt want to drop the charges. after i started freaking out and pounding on the box did they start listening to me. "maam, calm down we'll take the $500 charge off since you returned the box." i fought with the lady for almost a half hour before the manager decided to get off his break. in the end, i told them to cancel even the basic service i was going to have and then they took the $90 off too. i have been a loyal dish customer now for 7 years. even if comcast lowers its prices, i will still stay with dish. at least now i know how much my bill is every month without question.
12-12-2007 @ 6:21PM
PB said...
You should all live in Pell City Alabama...everything here sucks. The cable especially. Anything over channel 35 is fuzzy. We only have one phone company to choose from, and only ONE cable company. Taxes are as high as they would be in a wealthy neighborhood, that has tons of benefits, shopping, a YMCA etc... Pell City has nothing. And I mean NOTHING... yet the taxes will kill you. The people here are either snobs (because they were born here and have some kind of charter member status, which is total bull), or they are dirt poor. Even some of the snobs are dirt poor. It's crazy... I don't fit in because I am a damned yankee... ooooo they don't like yankees either... how backwards is that????????????????