Business

Netflix Supports Charter Acquisition of Time Warner Cable

Published

9 years ago

July 16, 2015

Oakland Post

This June 24, 2015 photo shows the Netflix Apple TV app icon, in South Orange, N.J. Netflix, a vocal opponent of Comcast's failed bid for Time Warner Cable, on Wednesday, July 15, 2015 said it supports Charter Communications' bid to do the same in a deal that would create another cable giant. (AP Photo/Dan Goodman)

(AP Photo/Dan Goodman)

Tali Arbel, ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK (AP) — Netflix, a vocal opponent of Comcast’s failed bid for Time Warner Cable, supports Charter’s quest to do the same in a deal that would create another cable giant.

In a filing with the Federal Communications Commission Wednesday, the online video company said it supports the deal because Charter says it won’t charge companies to connect to its network and reach its customers.

Spread across a larger Charter with 19.4 million Internet customers, that would be a “substantial public interest benefit” and would help get online services to consumers and promote innovation, Netflix said.

Charter’s policy and Netflix’s support of it could help sway regulators to approve the Charter deal after the Comcast-Time Warner Cable transaction fell apart in April under pressure from regulators.

Charter Communications Inc. wants to buy Time Warner Cable and Bright House for $67.1 billion to become the country’s No. 3 traditional TV provider and the second-largest home Internet supplier after Comcast.

“It’s certainly a positive for closing the deal, absolutely,” said BTIG analyst Rich Greenfield, and a “nice win for Netflix.” But he said there are still roadblocks to regulatory approval for Charter because the government is concerned about the lack of competition in the broadband market.

A spokeswoman for the Federal Communications Commission declined to comment because the transaction was under review.

After the Comcast deal collapsed because regulators worried that it could impede online video competitors while giving Comcast too much power over the nation’s high-speed Internet access, Charter is trying to position itself as a good Internet actor.

Charter’s updated policy, which continues to let companies connect to its network without paying until the end of 2018, goes into effect “immediately,” said spokesman Alex Dudley. It won’t be extended to Time Warner Cable and Bright House properties until those acquisitions close.

Why does this matter? Netflix Inc. fought with Comcast and other big Internet providers over these commercial arrangements and in 2014 ended up paying companies including Comcast, Verizon, Time Warner Cable and AT&T to connect directly to their networks after congestion issues hurt video quality for Netflix customers. Comcast and some other broadband providers had argued then that Netflix should be responsible for some of the cost of handling the traffic generated by its popular service. According to Internet research firm Sandvine,Netflix watchers account for 36.5 percent of traffic downloads on fixed networks in North America during peak evening hours.

The FCC has been concerned about disruptions to users’ online experience stemming from fights over these arrangements. It now has the power to hear disputes between Internet providers and companies according to its “net neutrality” rules that went into effect in June.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said he thought Charter’s policy would help pressure other big Internet service providers into also letting companies connect to their networks without paying.

In another bid to endear itself to government regulators, Charter has said that it will submit disputes over these commercial Internet deals to the FCC. It has also promised to roll out faster Internet with no data caps for Time Warner Cable and Bright House customers and said it will abide by the government’s net neutrality rules against blocking and slowing down Internet traffic and creating special paid fast lanes for content.

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AP Technology Writer Michael Liedtke contributed to this report from San Francisco.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

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15 hours ago

April 19, 2024

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V.P. Kamala Harris: Americans With Criminal Records Will Soon Be Eligible for SBA Loans

Speaking in Las Vegas on Jan. 27, Vice President Kamala Harris announced a forthcoming federal rule that will extend access to Small Business Administration (SBA) loans to Americans who have been convicted of felonies but have served their time. Small business owners typically apply for the SBA loans to start or sustain their businesses.

Published

3 days ago

April 16, 2024

Oakland Post

On her daylong trip, Harris was joined by Horford, SBA Administrator Isabella Guzman, Interim Under Secretary of Commerce for Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) Eric Morrissette, and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev).

By California Black Media

Small business owners typically apply for the SBA loans to start or sustain their businesses.

Harris thanked U.S. Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV-04), the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, for the work he has done in Washington to support small businesses and to invest in people.

“He and I spent some time this afternoon with business leaders and small business leaders here in Nevada. The work you have been doing to invest in community and to invest in the ambition and natural capacity of communities has been exceptional,” Harris said, speaking to a crowd of a few hundred people at the Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Hall in East Las Vegas.

“Formerly incarcerated individuals face significant barriers to economic opportunity once they leave prison and return to the community, with an unemployment rate among the population of more than 27%,” the White House press release continued. “Today’s announcement builds on the Vice President’s work to increase access to capital. Research finds that entrepreneurship can reduce recidivism for unemployed formerly incarcerated individuals by as much as 30%.”

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G.O.P. Lawmakers: Repeal AB 5 and Resist Nationalization of “Disastrous” Contractor Law

Published

3 days ago

April 16, 2024

Oakland Post

File Photo: Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher (R-Yuba City)

By California Black Media

Republican lawmakers gathered outside of the Employee Development Department in Sacramento on Jan. 23 to call for the repeal of AB5, the five-year old California law that reclassified gig workers and other independent contractors as W-2 employees under the state’s labor code.
Organizers said they also held the rally to push back against current efforts in Washington to pass a similar federal law.

“We are here to talk about this very important issue – a battle we have fought for many years – to stop this disastrous AB 5 policy,” said Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher (R-Yuba City).
Now, that threat has gone national as we have seen this new rule being pushed out of the Biden administration,” Gallagher continued.

On Jan. 10, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a new rule providing guidance on “on how to analyze who is an employee or independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).”
“This final rule rescinds the Independent Contractor Status Under the Fair Labor Standards Act rule (2021 IC Rule), that was published on January 7, 2021, and replaces it with an analysis for determining employee or independent contractor status that is more consistent with the FLSA as interpreted by longstanding judicial precedent,” a Department of Labor statement reads.
U.S. Congressmember Kevin Kiley (R-CA-3), who is a former California Assemblymember, spoke at the rally.

“We are here today to warn against the nationalization of one of the worst laws that has ever been passed in California, which has devastated the livelihoods of folks in over 600 professions,” said Kiley, adding that the law has led to a 10.5% decline in self-employment in California.

Kiley blamed U.S Acting Secretary of Labor, July Su, who was the former secretary of the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency, for leading the effort to redefine “contract workers” at the federal level.
Kiley said two separate lawsuits have been filed against Su’s Rule – its constitutionality and the way it was enacted, respectively. He said he is also working on legislation in Congress that puts restrictions on the creation and implementation of executive branch decisions like Su’s.
Assemblymember Kate Sanchez (R-Rancho Santa Margarita) announced that she plans to introduce legislation to repeal AB 5 during the current legislative session.

“So many working moms like myself, who are also raising kids, managing households, were devastated by the effects of AB 5 because they lost access to hundreds of flexible professions,” Sanchez continued. “I’ve been told by many of these women that they have lost their livelihoods as bookkeepers, artists, family caregivers, designers, and hairstylists because of this destructive law.”