News Disney and Fox come to terms -- announcement soon; huge IP acquisition

[the.dreamfinder]

That is a good point...

A lot of the discussion frames Comcast as a cable company...but they are drastically turning away from that to wireless technology.

Cable is dying...which is why Disney needs to cut out the rotting flesh of its own house sooner than later as well.

We can discuss at a later date, but CapCities,despite all that ESPN $$$, was a terrible strategic mistake for the company when they should have been focusing on embracing the internet and core businesses.

 

[Rodan75]

Comcast lacks sufficient spectrum to get into the last mile fight. They and Charter partnered with Verizon for mobile service.

Which is why they should be using this cash to buy T-Mobile or Sprint. Not letting them merge.

 

[Rodan75]

We can discuss at a later date, but CapCities,despite all that ESPN $$$, was a terrible strategic mistake for the company when they should have been focusing on embracing the internet and core businesses.

That is a tough past choice. At the moment and for nearly 2 decades it was the best choice.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Which is why they should be using this cash to buy T-Mobile or Sprint. Not letting them merge.

I don’t think their next move would be to struggle against att or more specifically...Verizon

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

That is a tough past choice. At the moment and for nearly 2 decades it was the best choice.

I agree...

That choice wasn’t perfect but they have made tons of money off it.

But they did what bad management always does: ride the golden horse all the way to the dog food factory chasing quarterlies

 

[Rodan75]

I agree...

That choice wasn’t perfect but they have made tons of money off it.

But they did what bad management always does: ride the golden horse all the way to the dog food factory chasing quarterlies

Technically they haven’t done that. The narrative around ESPN has been worse than the actual results. It is still wildly profitable. They are diversifying at the right moment any sooner and they would have been leaving money on the table.

 

[Rodan75]

I don’t think their next move would be to struggle against att or more specifically...Verizon

Sprint and T-Mobile really just need more funding and better service. Comcast could jump in and compete here.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Sprint and T-Mobile really just need more funding and better service. Comcast could jump in and compete here.

They wouldn’t want to get into that unless a lot of other avenues dry up.

The problem with 3 big carriers is that they actually would have to lower prices to compete. Wall Street detests that.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Technically they haven’t done that. The narrative around ESPN has been worse than the actual results. It is still wildly profitable. They are diversifying at the right moment any sooner and they would have been leaving money on the table.

Ad revenue is dropping fast...5 year of nose dive...that coupled with cable cutting makes the drop more precipitous than even the analysts will admit.

If they had waited any longer...they would have a had a full crash/crisis on their hands before bob gets his tan “just right”

The writing is on the wall.

 

[seascape]

They wouldn’t want to get into that unless a lot of other avenues dry up.

The problem with 3 big carriers is that they actually would have to lower prices to compete. Wall Street detests that.

Comcast will have to lower their prices too because 5 will provide better and cheaper service than wired service. For several years some here have said I was wrong and 5 would never work. Verizon has now given up on FIOS which is actually better and faster than what Comcast provides but Verizon knows wireless for the last mile is the way to go. Rodan75 is right and Comcast would be better off if they purchased Sprint or TMobile. The price of data will continue to go down while the speed increases and wired service costs more than wireless. Disagree if you would like but look at the cost of basic cell phones Vs landlines.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Comcast will have to lower their prices too because 5 will provide better and cheaper service than wired service. For several years some here have said I was wrong and 5 would never work. Verizon has now given up on FIOS which is actually better and faster than what Comcast provides but Verizon knows wireless for the last mile is the way to go. Rodan75 is right and Comcast would be better off if they purchased Sprint or TMobile. The price of data will continue to go down while the speed increases and wired service costs more than wireless. Disagree if you would like but look at the cost of basic cell phones Vs landlines.

You haven’t been watching the net neutrality thing, have you?

It’s going down and when it does...Comcast will be a big beneficiary. As will Verizon and AT&T.
Eventually all will be wireless...but we’re not there yet.

Predicting the downfall of Comcast or the rise of sprint/t-mobile is a tad premature

 

[doctornick]

We can discuss at a later date, but CapCities,despite all that ESPN $$$, was a terrible strategic mistake for the company when they should have been focusing on embracing the internet and core businesses.

Wasn't the Disney/Cap Cities merger over 20 years ago? Was the internet really a thing to "embrace" at that point?

 

[seascape]

You might be interested in knowing the person who wrote the Obama net neutrality rule that the FCC approved was a former FCC employee who was also a friend of mine. I am well aware the FCC repealed the rule but California just passed their own law.

As for the future of Comcast, I have no doubt that they will be around for years in some form. I just believe they would be better off sticking with data delivery as that is what they are best at. If they continue down the path of being a content owner and producer they can succeed at that if they make that their priority but I think it's a major mistake to try and do both when so much needs to be invested in upgrading data delivery. I believe Verizon is right in their view that 5 is going to change the world and concentrating on that and not what specific data is transferred will provide them with better profits.

 

[Rodan75]

Interesting that Disney saw some stock growth today, ahead of Fox growth and Comcast continued to dip.

Not behavior I would expect from an additional round of bids rumored this week.

And. The delay on the SKY regulatory readout is crazy. But I think that is good for Fox ?

 

[Stripes]

The delay on the SKY regulatory readout is crazy

Is this the case? Is it actually delayed?

I've been reading up on the Viacom/QVC battle for Paramount. I'd definitely recommend doing so as well. There's a few old New York Times articles that will open your eyes to the futility of individual opinions in bidding wars such as the one we're in. Particularly quotes from the acquired company's shareholders. Although antitrust wasn't a factor, there are a lot of parallels with the Fox battle.

 

[winstongator]

That is a good point...

A lot of the discussion frames Comcast as a cable company...but they are drastically turning away from that to wireless technology.

Cable is dying...which is why Disney needs to cut out the rotting flesh of its own house sooner than later as well.

For people with Comcast Xfinity service, they offer a lot of WiFi hotspots. How do they get that coverage? I'm pretty sure they're using their cable modems that customers rent and setting up additional networks. That cable infrastructure is extremely valuable when it comes to providing wireless services.

https://www.fastcompany.com/3039682...ur-homes-internet-part-of-the-sharing-economy

Coax, as a communications channel will be strong for a while. Docsis 3.1 provides 10Gbps down 1Gbps up theoretical capacity. I worked on a product that a big internet company was looking at for a nascent wireless gigabit network. Not sure where it went. I'd love for that technology to take off, but it seems like there are more hurdles than I thought. Coax is already installed and medium capacity (not fiber, but worlds better than twisted-pair). Problem with coax is the cable companies you have to get service from.

 

[winstongator]

Wasn't the Disney/Cap Cities merger over 20 years ago? Was the internet really a thing to "embrace" at that point?

Has the Nasdaq returned to its dot-com highs yet? The internet was huge 20 years ago, but it was based on growth. Growth that over the past 20 years has pretty much played out - not exactly as people expected, but it's grown exponentially.

It eclipsed its high in 2015. About 50% above that. However, 50% growth over 18 years isn't a whole lot. Tech market in 2000 was massive.

 

[seascape]

Has the Nasdaq returned to its dot-com highs yet? The internet was huge 20 years ago, but it was based on growth. Growth that over the past 20 years has pretty much played out - not exactly as people expected, but it's grown exponentially.

It eclipsed its high in 2015. About 50% above that. However, 50% growth over 18 years isn't a whole lot. Tech market in 2000 was massive.

I dont think people want an economic class here but what happened in the 1990s was a huge bubble based upon a change in the law which allowed companies to go public with no real underlying business. Anyway it was not based on real economic numbers as technology today is so much bigger there is no comparison. Maybe you should look up the tulip bulb bubble to get an upstanding of a bubble and how foolish people can be.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

For people with Comcast Xfinity service, they offer a lot of WiFi hotspots. How do they get that coverage? I'm pretty sure they're using their cable modems that customers rent and setting up additional networks. That cable infrastructure is extremely valuable when it comes to providing wireless services.

https://www.fastcompany.com/3039682...ur-homes-internet-part-of-the-sharing-economy

Coax, as a communications channel will be strong for a while. Docsis 3.1 provides 10Gbps down 1Gbps up theoretical capacity. I worked on a product that a big internet company was looking at for a nascent wireless gigabit network. Not sure where it went. I'd love for that technology to take off, but it seems like there are more hurdles than I thought. Coax is already installed and medium capacity (not fiber, but worlds better than twisted-pair). Problem with coax is the cable companies you have to get service from.

No...I’m not disagreeing with you at all. You still need the coax and will for some time.

I was more speaking to this implied stance that once Gramps dies and his cable is cut...that Comcast won’t have a business.

But the reality is that unless there is another large tech innovation, Comcast still has everyone by the stones because they’ll charge you by the bit to get whatever it is you stream.

Aka: the future isn’t as dire as the Foamers are making it seem. That 90 story tower they’re building about 10 Miles from my house is being built for a reason.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Has the Nasdaq returned to its dot-com highs yet? The internet was huge 20 years ago, but it was based on growth. Growth that over the past 20 years has pretty much played out - not exactly as people expected, but it's grown exponentially.

It eclipsed its high in 2015. About 50% above that. However, 50% growth over 18 years isn't a whole lot. Tech market in 2000 was massive.

I dont think people want an economic class here but what happened in the 1990s was a huge bubble based upon a change in the law which allowed companies to go public with no real underlying business. Anyway it was not based on real economic numbers as technology today is so much bigger there is no comparison. Maybe you should look up the tulip bulb bubble to get an upstanding of a bubble and how foolish people can be.

And yet: the bubble situation is much worse/more dangerous now. We have learned NOTHING to protect ourselves collectively from the handful of predators.
Voldemort is alive and well