Cable TV Briefs: Comcast to Merge Peacock With HBO?; Failing Cable Op Blames YouTube TV For Demise; Cox Offers $20 a Month Video Plan
By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man – Follow me on X.
Comcast Wants to Merge Peacock With HBO Max?
Comcast reportedly is gearing up to make a bid for the now on-sale Warner Bros. Discovery company which would enable the cable op to merge its streaming service, Peacock, with WBD’s HBO Max. However, Comcast may not be the front runner to lasso WBD since Paramount Global and Netflix may also be in the hunt. Click here to learn more.
Comcast Contributes to President Trump’s Ballroom Construction
You might think a Comcast-Warner Bros. Discovery merger would have difficulty getting approved by federal regulators in the Trump Administration; the president has been a frequent critic of Comcast and NBC’s coverage of the White House. However the White House just released a donor list for the president’s $300 million construction of a new WH ballroom and, lo and behold, the list includes Comcast. The New York Post reports that Comcast has donated between $5 million and $10 million to the ballroom project. Looks like the cable giant wants to curry some favor in DC for some reason.
Charter Lays Off 1,200 Employees Due to Shrinking Subs
The cable industry’s continued decline in both video and Internet subs has taken its toll on the Charter workforce. The cable op has just laid off 1,200 employees nationwide to offset falling revenues. To learn more, click here.
Cable TV Service Blames YouTube TV For Going Out Of Business
Speaking of declining business, Slashgear reports that Cedar Falls Utilities, an Iowa cable TV distributor, has announced that it’s going out business in one year or less. The company says YouTube TV and other streamers are to blame because they are paying top dollar to win the exclusive rights to professional sports and other programming. “With the rise of streaming services and on demand platforms, many of the most popular shows and games are not available on cable TV. CFU is unable to provide the same quality TV programming you have previously enjoyed. More customers have chosen flexible, internet-based entertainment options over traditional cable TV. Large, national streaming services have technological advantages that CFU will not be able to match,” the cable operator said in a statement. To learn more, click here.
Charter Launches App Store to Entice Video Subscribers
Charter’s Spectrum TV service has done a better job than most in limiting the loss of video subscribers due to cord cutting. But the company is not immune to the impact that cheap streaming services have had on cable and satellite. To combat that trend, the cable op recently launched a new App Store where Spectrum TV customers can order and watch popular streamers; if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. To learn more, click here.
Cox Offers ‘Low-Cost’ Video Service
Cox, which has agreed to merge with Charter, pending federal approval, is now offering a $20 a month, 80 channel-video plan for Internet customers to boost subscriber revenue. The plan, which does not require a cable box, includes channels such as the Food Network, HGTV, Hallmark, A&E, Lifetime, AMC and Discovery Channel. However, ‘Cox TV Lite,’ as the plan is dubbed, does not include sports networks, news channels and local broadcasters. To learn more, click here.
Comcast & Disney Renew Carriage Deal But Where’s ESPN+?
The Puck’s John Ourand reports that Comcast has quietly reached a new carriage deal with Disney for ESPN and the entire Disney suite of channels. However, the cable op’s subscribers don’t yet have free and full access to the new ESPN Unlimited app. Previous TV distributors such as DIRECTV and Spectrum TV were able to get that bonus benefit for their subscribers with new carriage pacts. However, Comcast’s subscribers still can only access the live channels on the app, not the added programming available via the ESPN+ section. The TV Answer Man asked Comcast about this last week and the cable service confirmed the live channels on the app were now available for free to its subscribers, but not ESPN+. Awful Announcing reports that a source says ESPN is still working on the technology to accommodate the Comcast subscribers which makes sense. DIRECTV has offered the ESPN+ programming to its streaming customers since the app’s launch, but not the larger satellite audience. The latter is being phased in to ensure the ESPN app is not overwhelmed with subscribers at one time. So, Comcast subscribers, ESPN+ is coming but be patient. To learn more, here’s the paywalled The Puck article and here’s the Awful Announcing article.
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