Cablevision confirmed on June 14 that it is buying smaller Western-US operator Bresnan for $1.37 Billion. Cablevision the fifth-largest cable company in the country. Cablevision is a New York-based cable operator with more than 90% penetration in its home markets, so in order to expand it must enter new territories. Approximately 300,000 households subscribe to Bresnan's cable and HSD service, meaning Cablevision will pay over $4,500 per subscriber for the takeover.
Read more about Cablevision's takeover of Bresnan at Business Week and Telecompaper.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
NBC affiliates tell FCC to make sure Comcast keeps sports on NBC after merger | Company Town | Los Angeles Times
Given Comcast's ownership interests in regional and national sports channels, NBC affiliates are concerned of losing sports content and the local advertising that goes with it following the Comcast/NBCU merger.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
2010 Regional Communications Law Forum
On June 9, Bradley & Guzzetta attended the 2010 Regional Communications Law Forum at the Minnesota CLE Conference Center in Minneapolis. The day kicked off with an insightful and wryly humorous explanation of the United Kingdom's Competition Appeal Tribunal and European antitrust law in the telecommunications context from Tribunal Member Adam Scott.
Other presenters discussed Comcast's TV Everywhere, Google Voice, multi-jurisdictional practice, and the National Broadband Plan.
Julio Ojedo-Zapata, St. Paul's Pioneer Press consumer technology reporter, engaged the crowd with a fun and informative tech gadget rundown over lunch.
Our own Mike Bradley served on the planning committee for the event and Bradley & Guzzetta compiled a year-long summary of communications law, included in the CLE materials. If you would like a PDF copy of Bradley & Guzzetta's communications law summary for 2009-2010, please contact any of us.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Announcement - B&G's Jon Koebrick Graduates from Iowa
Jon Koebrick, Bradley & Guzzetta’s Telecommunications Consultant, Graduated Iowa Law in May 2010
Jon will take the Iowa Bar examination in July 2010 and will continue providing legal and telecommunications consulting services to corporate and municipal clients. Jon has over 16 years of experience in the cable television industry with Mediacom Communications, AT&T Broadband and Tele-Communications, Inc. prior to attending law school. Following successful completion of the Iowa Bar examination, Jon will be employed as an associate attorney with Bradley & Guzzetta, LLC and maintain an office in Marion, Iowa. | |
| Visit Bradley & Guzzetta's website for information about our firm. Contact Jon Koebrick directly at koebrick@bradleyguzzetta.com. Bradley & Guzzetta is on Facebook! | |
Comcast NBC Merger: Bad News for Hulu and MVPDs?
The deadline to file comments with the FCC on the proposed Comcast NBC Universal merger is June 21. The merger is being attacked on the usual anticompetition/antitrust grounds, based on the size and marketshare of the companies in cable and broadcast TV. However, some speculate the merger will mean the demise of Hulu, the popular free Internet video site, which competes on some levels with Comcast as a video provider. NBC currently owns about a third of Hulu. The concern is not only that Comcast would gain enough power to shut Hulu's doors, but also that the incentive would be greatly increased for limiting network traffic to such sites. ("Net Neutrality," the idea that ISPs should be barred from placing content- or provider-based limitations on their networks, is of course another hot topic at the FCC.)
The FCC has just announced it will be holding a public hearing on the Comcast/NBC merger in Chicago on July 13 [pdf].
Cities with Comcast as a cable operator are looking closely at Comcast's practices in light of this opportunity to comment on the merger. Find information about Bradley & Guzzetta's effort to oppose Comcast's new HD Technology Fee here [pdf].
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