Comcast, NBC deal opens door for online video

Image via CrunchBaseTo some this may not sound like a big deal. But, for those that don't know about Net Neutrality you may want to take the time to search it out and learn more about it. It's bad enough to have Government trying to regulate the internet. It's worse when major companies and Government both have their greedy hands involved in controlling the main source of Freedom we have left.
Though the outside of this article may sound nice. Check out the entire article below at the link.
The last thing we need is package deals for what sites we can visit and what we cannot.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110228/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_comcast_nbc_online_video

By JOELLE TESSLER, AP Technology Writer Joelle Tessler, Ap Technology Writer – Mon Feb 28, 8:55 am ET

WASHINGTON – New Internet video services from companies such as Netflix and Apple are offering a glimpse of a home entertainment future that doesn't include a pricey monthly cable bill.
To challenge the cable TV industry's dominance in the living room, though, online video services need popular movies and TV shows to lure viewers, and access to high-speed Internet networks to reach them.
Yet they have had no rights to either — until now.
To win government approval to take over NBC Universal last month, cable giant Comcast Corp. agreed to let online rivals license NBC programming, including hit shows such as "30 Rock" and "The Office." Comcast also agreed not to block its 17 million broadband subscribers from watching video online through Netflix, Apple's iTunes and other rivals yet to come.
Those requirements aim to ensure that the nation's largest cable TV company, with nearly 23 million video subscribers in 39 states, cannot stifle the growth of the nascent Internet video business. Although they apply only to Comcast and NBC, these conditions could serve as a model for other big entertainment companies in dealing with new online competitors. They also send a powerful message that the government believes these promising young rivals deserve an opportunity to take on established media companies.
"These conditions are not just window dressing," said Paul Gallant, an analyst for MF Global, a financial brokerage. "They come across as a pretty comprehensive effort to give Internet TV a real shot at taking off."
The Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department spent more than a year reviewing Comcast's plan to buy a 51 percent stake in NBC Universal from General Electric. The deal gives Comcast control over the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, cable channels such as CNBC and Bravo, the Universal Pictures movie studio and a stake in Hulu.com, which distributes NBC and other broadcast programming online.
Government officials wanted to ensure that Comcast could not crush competition through its control over both a major media empire and the pipes that deliver cable and Internet services to millions of American homes.
But figuring out how to protect online video was tricky because the market is still taking shape.
Netflix offers subscription plans with unlimited online viewing for $8 a month. Apple and Amazon.com let customers rent or buy individual movies and TV shows for as little as a few dollars apiece — providing an alternative for people who don't want big bundles of cable channels they may never watch. Apple and Google make set-top boxes and software that transfer online video to television sets, freeing it from computer screens. TV makers are also building in Internet capabilities.
All these options could make it easier to cut the cable cord — and the cable bill. In 2010, Comcast's cable customers paid an average of $70 per month for video services.

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Verizon challenges FCC Net neutrality rules - Jan. 20, 2011

Image via WikipediaBe sure to see link for the full story. We don't want to loose our Free Internet to anyone.
http://money.cnn.com/2011/01/20/technology/verizon_fcc/index.htm
By Laurie Segall, staff reporterJanuary 21, 2011: 10:54 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Verizon filed a legal appeal on Thursday challenging the Federal Communications Commission's authority to enforce the new Net neutrality rules it adopted last month.
"We believe this assertion of authority goes well beyond any authority provided by Congress, and creates uncertainty for the communications industry, innovators, investors and consumers," Verizon senior vice president and deputy general counsel Michael E. Glover said in a written statement

On December 21, the FCC's commissioners voted three-to-two to adopt so-called "Net neutrality" rules, which would give the agency regulatory power over Internet service providers. The agency's goal is to prevent Internet providers from blocking or "unreasonably discriminating" against Web content, services or applications.
But the FCC's legal grounds for expanding its authority is shaky, and industry observers predicted that Internet providers would take the issue to court.
"Undoubtedly, there's going to be litigation against it," Rebecca Tushnet, a professor at Georgetown University who specializes in digital media, said at the time.
Enter Verizon (VZ, Fortune 500). The company was already in the thick of the Net neutrality fight after striking a backroom deal with Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) last year that it hoped would head off new FCC rules. It didn't.
The FCC has been through the legal wringer several times in its attempts to police Internet providers.
In 2007, Comcast -- the nation's largest Internet provider -- blocked its subscribers from using peer-to-peer file-sharing networks. The FCC tried to force Comcast to stop, and Comcast fought back with a lawsuit challenging the FCC's authority in the matter. In April 2010, a U.S. court of appeals ruled in Comcast's favor.

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Comcast wins government approval to take over NBC - The Globe and Mail

Here we go, Those of you that don't know about net neutrality. It's all about Governments control over the media powerhouses and a way for those powerhouses to charge extra for being able to see certain things on the net. I have noticed many people really don't know much about this. I suggest if you have the time to check it out.
Today we find Comcast, just one of those powerhouses bought out NBC. Not that they aren't part of that media outrage already. But, now Government, FCC and Comcast will now have full control over any Freedom of Speech spoken of on this station and outlets even more. Check out the article below.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/comcast-wins-government-approval-to-take-over-nbc/article1874624
Government regulators on Tuesday gave Comcast Corp. (CMCSA-Q23.030.251.10%), the country's largest cable company, clearance to take over NBC Universal in a deal that is certain to transform the entertainment industry landscape.
Comcast is buying a 51 per cent stake in NBC Universal, home of the NBC television network, from General Electric Co. (GE-N18.27-0.33-1.77%) for $13.8-billion (U.S.) in cash and assets.

More related to this story

• FCC seeks conditions on Comcast, NBC deal

The Justice Department and five state attorneys general said Tuesday that they have reached a court settlement allowing the companies to proceed with their combination, subject to conditions intended to preserve competition among TV providers.
In addition, the five-member Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday voted 4-1 to approve the transaction, subject to similar but broader conditions.
Among other things, regulators are requiring Comcast to make NBC programming available to competitors such as satellite companies, as well as new Internet video services that could pose a threat to the company's core cable business.
Government officials want to ensure that online video services from companies such as Netflix Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Apple Inc. can get the movies and TV shows they need to grow — and potentially offer a cheaper alternative to monthly cable subscriptions. Still, the conditions did not go far enough for Michael Copps, one of the three Democrats on the FCC and a vocal critic of media consolidation. Copps voted against the deal, warning that it “confers too much power in one company's hands.”

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EDITORIAL: Wave goodbye to Internet freedom - Washington Times

Image via WikipediaGet ready folks this is one major issue that seems to be so widely ignored. Say goodbye to the Freedom of the Internet? Be sure to click the link below for the full story.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/dec/2/wave-goodbye-to-internet-freedom
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is poised to add the Internet to its portfolio of regulated industries. The agency's chairman, Julius Genachowski, announced Wednesday that he circulated draft rules he says will "preserve the freedom and openness of the Internet." No statement could better reflect the gulf between the rhetoric and the reality of Obama administration policies.
With a straight face, Mr. Genachowski suggested that government red tape will increase the "freedom" of online services that have flourished because bureaucratic busybodies have been blocked from tinkering with the Web. Ordinarily, it would be appropriate at this point to supply an example from the proposed regulations illustrating the problem. Mr. Genachowski's draft document has over 550 footnotes and is stamped "non-public, for internal use only" to ensure nobody outside the agency sees it until the rules are approved in a scheduled Dec. 21 vote. So much for "openness."

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The industry noise machine has kicked into high gear to stop the FCC from protecting Net Neutrality.

Help Free Press Spread the Truth: Donate Today   It's happening. The industry noise machine has kicked into high gear to stop the FCC from protecting Net Neutrality. On Monday, the AT&T-funded front group Americans for Prosperity (AFP) announced a $1.4 million advertising blitz to convince the public that the FCC is plotting to "take over the Internet." This is complete fiction. We urgently need your financial support to expose the phone and cable lobby's scare tactics and get out the truth. We're not asking for $1.4 million, but your donation of $14 would make a huge difference. Please Donate $14 to Push Back Against Industry Lies We have to act fast. AFP's lies are now spreading to Capitol Hill, and House minority leaders John Boehner and Eric Cantor are spouting the same bogus talking points. And so are FOX News anchors and Glenn Beck. Of course, this is business as usual for AFP, which was created to spread fear and confusion on important policy issues, and to smear public interest groups like Free Press on behalf of its corporate donors. This is the same group of extremists that spread lies about President Obama's "death panels," and tried to kill climate legislation. The Internet is next on their list. These false claims of a "government takeover" are downright scary. By spending millions to spread these lies, AT&T and other companies hope that if they repeat "government takeover" often and loudly enough, people will eventually believe it. After all, from the "death tax" to "death panels," it's a tactic that's worked before. Donate $14 to Help Save the Internet Thanks to your calls and letters last week, we stopped the FCC from abandoning its promise to protect the open Internet and close the digital divide. That fight was intense, but it was nothing compared to what's ahead. We have to drown out these industry lies with the voices of millions of Net Neutrality supporters, and to keep the pressure on the FCC to do the right thing. AT&T and others are spending $1.4 million because they're worried the public might actually succeed in the fight for free speech online and universal access to the Internet. Let's show them they have reason to be worried. Please donate today. We don't take a dime from any companies, industry groups or political parties. That's why we need your support now more than ever. Thank you, Timothy Karr Campaign Director Free Press Action Fund SavetheInternet.com P.S.: Death panels, Wall Street bailouts, oil spills. Failed government oversight of industry shenanigans is hurting all of us. Don't let the Internet be next. Please donate today.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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Obama's Secret Power Grabs

clipped from www.foxnews.com President Obama seems to believe that most of his sweeping agenda to transform the country can be accomplished without even a vote of Congress. While Congress considers sweeping new legislation to permanently institutionalize the bailouts and federal control of our financial system (right on the heels of their health care takeover, of course) several other sweeping power grabs are going on outside the spotlight of legislative debate. Indeed President Obama seems to believe that most of his sweeping agenda to transform the country can be accomplished without even a vote of Congress. The chart seen above and found here shows what the administration is up to. As I’ve previously noted here in the Fox Forum, the the EPA is pursuing an aggressive global warming power grab under the direction of White House Climate czar Carol Browner (who was not subject to Senate confirmation), and the FCC is pursuing a regulatory takeover of the Internet.

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Liberty News

Tea Parties vs. Socialist Redistributionists » Although President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Reid and their elite socialistic foot soldiers cast it in pleasant, humanitarian terms as a means of providing healthcare to those who couldn't otherwise afford it, the majority of Americans recognized Obamacare for what it was: a transfer of wealth to Big Pharma, trial lawyers, unions and other special interests and a power grab over society's producers. Read this article to learn whether there is a way out of Obamcare... More »

National Tea Party Federation Arrives On The Political Scene » A coalition of national and regional Tea Party groups has announced the formation of the National Tea Party Federation (NTPF). Its proclaimed goal is to send a unified message and media response on behalf of key leaders and its affiliates. More »

Court Overrules Government On 'Net Neutrality' » The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has backed the cable company Comcast in its dispute with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which accused the company of slowing some Internet traffic on its network. The ruling is seen as a blow to the government's efforts to push through "net neutrality" regulations. More »

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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So much for freedom of the Internet

There is a lot here, You may want to read through all of this page at the link.

clipped from www.wnd.com Is this constitutional? The Department of Homeland Security's Janet Napolitano says the department may eventually extend its "Einstein" technology, designed to detect and prevent electronic attacks, to networks operated by the private sector. The technology was created for federal networks. This raises a host of questions about privacy, access, government monitoring of private networks, loss of control, and constitutional rights to privacy guaranteed in the Bill of Rights under the Fourth Amendment. Einstein grew out of a still-classified executive order, called National Security Presidential Directive 54, that President Bush signed in 2008. As we reported in Surfin' Safari last week, the Federal Communications Commission has begun tweaking its surveys to measure Internet use by census tract – rather than county – and divide broadband into different "speed tiers." Pay-per-download Internet is heading our way

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