Comcast has no shame, successfully delays FiOS vote for Philadelphia
By Darren Murph 
posted Dec 12th 2008 12:56PM
posted Dec 12th 2008 12:56PM
[Via DSLReports]
posted Dec 12th 2008 12:56PM
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If it's any indication from Directv, Comcast won't give up the local Comcast Sportsnet channels to Fios either in Philadelphia. A friend of mine is dieing to get Directv because of sunday ticket and ditch Comcast, but that means he would have no way of watching the 76ers or Phillies if he did, as Comcast doesn't give those channels to Directv. I assume they would pull the same shit with Fios.
Actually, surprisingly, FiOS may get Comcast SportsNet if they ever do get into the city limits of Philly. I live in Bucks County 30 minutes outside of Philly, and was shocked to find out that when I switched from comcrap to FiOS I could still watch all my Phillies game b/c FiOS had Comcast SportsNet.
So yes, there is absolutely, positively, no reason whatsoever to stick with Comcast if you have the choice. So glad they're gone from my life forever.
i only have pure basic from comcast and thats it,im thinking of bringing the hd box back to them and just going back to the old box seeing i can get hd over the air anyway,no use in spending the extra $10 on there crap
As a resident of Philadelphia this makes me sad and angry, to think that Com$haft could stifle competition in my home town with just a tip of a hat. Every so often I plug my zip code "19119" into the FiOS web site and I'm constantly faced with the answer "Based on the information you entered, FiOS TV is currently unavailable"
F.U. COMCAST!!!
My answer to their garbage at my new place? Only purchase service four months a year for college basketball season, use an OTA HD Antenna for the other eight (live in a condo that faces the wrong direction for satellite, and am fortunate to have access to XOHM for internet).
Even that plan seems impossible as they can't seem to bring the correct equipment to complete the installation. I mean how many times do you have to tell their operators/installers "bring a single mcard cablecard for my TiVo" before it sinks in. Let's hope try #3 this evening is the charm.
Well try #3 was a failure. Comcast you f*cking suck. You should not only get out of Philly, but be forced to sell your crap business in other markets to someone semi-competent.
This is all out of the cable TV establishment handbook. Cablevision did the same thing on Long Island when Fios first came here. These companies are so anti-competitive, its truly amazing. And they will fling the mud at every opportunity.
Not enough is being made out of Cablevision's refusal to allow FIOS to run any of the 4 MSG HD channels in the NY Metro area. Cablevision owns the teams that play at MSG and all 4 channels. On those channels are the Knicks, Rangers, Islanders and Devils. So basically, if you live in NY, and you want to watch hockey in HD, you MUST have cablevision. In fact, Cablevision runs ads in the local market that don't mention they own these channels, but says that they are the only cable provider that can offer every NY sports team in HD. So, rather than compete on price, Cablevision wants to compete on content, except rather than add content, they want to own the content to keep it away from other companies. You gotta love deregulation!
Oh, and I forgot to add, Cablevision plays the misinformation game too. They run these commercials talking about how much faster their internet offerings are than the "phone company." The intentional misinformation is, of course, that by saying "phone company," they are not comparing FIOS internet speeds, but rather Verizon's old DSL connection, which, as far as I know, they only push in areas that don't get FIOS. It would be as if Verizon based their comparison of internet speeds on FIOS vs. someone dialing in on a modem through Cablevision's phone services....it wouldn't be completely false, but you're not comparing Fiber to Cable internet speeds.
And I should have included this link before: http://policyblog.verizon.com/policyblog/blogs/policyblog/ericrabe9/515/why-verizon-doesn-t-offer-msg-in-hd.aspx
That's Verizon's stance on the no MSG-HD issue.
Aren't there rules/laws about being anti-competitive? Comcast is doing it in Philly. Cablevision is doing it in NY/NJ (thanks to 'Joshua' for covering that for me). And there's plenty of others if you look hard enough (COX in San Diego).
dyhrdmet, I'm not an expert, but I am a lawyer and did take a Telecommunications Regulations course in Law School. Here's what I know, in a nutshell. First, its all very very complicated. Second, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 changed the landscape entirely and allowed for significant deregulation and consolidation. While deregulation is often good at reducing red tape, it can also reduce competition.
I'm taking this from a website called multichannel.com. "Martin" is the FCC Chairman.
"Cablevision also owns MSG Network, a regional sports channel. Cablevision withholds the HD version of MSG from Verizon Communications, Cablevision’s main wireline competitor in the greater New York City region.
Martin told reporters he has no plans to eliminate the legal exemption that allows Cablevision to restrict access to MSG’s HD feed.
Cablevision’s new alliance with Martin comes after the company in September hired its first full-time permanent lobbyist in Washington, D.C., in many years, scooping up one of Martin’s closest aides, Catherine Bohigian. The value of the Bohigian-Martin connection to Cablevision is certain to change once Martin steps down after the Obama administration takes power on Jan. 20.
Nevertheless, Cablevision should be able to maintain access to Obama’s FCC chairman. David Ellen, Cablevision’s executive vice president and general counsel for cable and communications, attended Harvard Law School with Obama and succeeded him as president of the Harvard Law Review."
Your government at work
Agreed,
I had CUmcast for quite some time and will never again use their services.
I would rather go without TV/internets than pay them.
Putting acid in my eyes sounds more appealing.
**ck you, Comcast.
Your crap business practices and lack of concern the end user are coming back to haunt you.
Comcast is awesome!!! You guys are crazy! Even after Feb of 2009 I'll still be able to have a sh1tty analog signal pumped to my house.. I hope their lobbyists slip and fall on an Aids needle walking to City Hall. I hope Nutter steps in and says vote on it now before the end of the year.... The corrupt politics in this city have got to go.
Got news for ya chief, in feb or sometime after that comcast is going to pull their analog signals so that they can add more hd. they will force you to get a box to watch tv on cable - hey, we have this great deal though where we will give you a box free for a year for your tvs but after that youll have to pay 4.99 per tv.
wakeup.
Move out of the sh!tty, I mean city that god awful place if you want fios, Your fault for living there!
Hey anyone know what the homicide count is up 2 in philly?
What the F*CK!!!! It won't lead to lower prices? Who the hell are they kidding?!
I just got FiOS TV installed, got my FiOS Internet bumped to 20/5 speed, and I'm going to save $50/month over FiOS Internet + Comcast!
That company needs to die. Horribly.
How about big teleco needs to die in a sea of fire and everyone should have a fiber box hooked up to there place and have the right to choose a local provider they want at there choosing.
Verizon would probably be the only one worth keeping otherwise jackyourpriceupscamcast, qworst, and AT&T (any good name for them?) can go away or be totally restructured. No bailouts either!
Rod Blagojevich did the dirty.
I am astounded that people are blaming Comcast for this.
Isn't it obvious that the problem is corrupt politicians on the city council? If Verizon wants to cable the city for FiOS, why the heck would the council members not allow it? Isn't their job to serve their citizens?
LOL, so here you guys are, complaining when rural areas don't get high speed internet service because it would cost to much if the subscribers had to pay for it. And now you are crying about comcast wanting the government to make the playing field even IN A CITY by requiring Verizon to match the footprint Comcast is required to by local franchise
Funny how people can see things 2 completely opposite ways.I think that has a name doesn't it? Or a few?
Comcast already F'd us in New Hampshire with the same "no lower prices" "high income neighborhoods fisrt" argument. And now Verizon has left us completely (sold lines off to Fair Point).
Oh by the way my Comcast bill went up AGAIN this past month.
Quite honestly, WHO CARES if they wire up high-income neighborhoods 1st? As long as it gets done. I'm broke, and I don't see the relevance of that argument. If the rich get it first, so be it, as long as there's a timetable that means I can get it. I already have DirecTV for video, and I can go to a bar and get $1 beers if I want to see a Flyers or Phillies game, so I don't care if Cumstain is holding SportsNet hostage. I want the FiOS more for the broadband internet connection, anyway.