Media consolidation

[JTA]

Good thing I'm not in the Comcact-Time Warner fiefdom.

[JTA]

Whenever I read anything about ISPs and net neutrality, and get a tiny bit hopeful, I always come back to this:

http://blackburn.house.gov/news/documen ... tID=370181

“The last thing we need right now is more bureaucratic overregulation that will discourage innovation, hurt competition, and serve as an industry job-killer. Instead, we should be working with industry to encourage more innovation and job creation in the virtual space. This administration needs to stop mimicking some of the most restrictive policies of countries like China. Federal control of the Internet will restrict our online freedom and leave Americans facing the same horrors that they have experienced with HealthCare.gov. Since it is clear that FCC Chairman Wheeler is on a crusade to implement these socialistic regulations, I will soon be introducing legislation to block these efforts and protect Internet freedom for consumers.” - See more at: http://blackburn.house.gov/news/documen ... wtO9n.dpuf

and laugh at how absurd and full of shit that lady is because it's she evidently HAS NO FREAKING IDEA what she's talking about, then I realize she's a congresswomen and I get a lil bit sad.

It would be like me making decisions and releasing statements that pertain to the running of a nuclear power plants.

[JTA]

Yes, Netflix And Hulu Are Starting To Kill Cable

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/1 ... 68725.html

Cord cutting -- ditching your steep monthly cable or satellite bill and instead watching video online -- is on the rise, according to a new report from Experian Marketing Services.

In fact, some young adults may never even pay for cable TV in their lifetimes.

...

And who can blame them? TV is pricey. The average cable TV bill, not including fees, promotions or taxes, has increased by a whopping 97 percent over the past 14 years, according to the media research firm SNL Kagan. That bill could reach a whopping $200 per month by 2020, one study found.

...

Fetto said that cable companies, which of course are often also the gatekeepers to the Internet, will have to get more creative with their billing to make up for the revenue lost by people who are cutting the cord.

So-called "data caps" -- which limit the amount of data a person can download each month before they're charged overage fees -- are already in place in more than 60 percent of homes in the U.S., according to GigaOm.

Good f'ing riddance.

We got rid of cable for good six months ago. The quality of TV had gotten pretty poor recently anyway. Back in the day the History channel and Discovery channel, even TLC, had some pretty good, informative, shows, but now it's all rednecks and teen moms. The last straw for me was when charter started requiring you to purchase additional boxes to watch cable TV, limiting you to one free box with an additional fee for each box thereafter. Their reasoning was they were doing this to provide "better quality service.".