Side-By-Side-By-Comcast and Other Observations from the Passing Parade

Here39s your quick capsule of who believes what Consumer advocates and members of Congress declare the merger of cable39s top two system owners will be anything but propublic with whatever innovative technology and services that result having higher monthly rates tacked on The major content creators speaking out so far from DisneyABC to Scripps Networks defend the agreement believing as long as they whip up quality programming they39ll keep their channel positions and get more dollars for them Production unions including the Writers Guild of America vow to break the deal up charging less diversity of material and fewer independentlyowned new channels reaching viewersAt early glance there39s no doubt this deal will get microscopic scrutiny from Congress the Federal Communications Commission and other regulatory agencies with little chance it will pass muster on an early date this fall You also sense Comcast will have to do more than divest systems reaching up to three million customers to reach the finish line on this agreementOne thing Comcast can do to ease the breakup buzz from these sides in the near turn is agree to extend and expand the new network diversity movement it launched as part of acquiring full control of NBC Universal four years ago At that time NBC promised to launch 10 independentlycreated channels on its cable systems without taking equity in them Four would come from AfricanAmerican sources four from Latino sources and two would be wild cards More than 100 network proposals were submitted in the first round of this movement with BabyFirst Americas Aspire Revolt and El Rey Network chosenAll these networks have launched Six more channels are to be selected and premiere by 201718 There39s no word yet on when the second round of proposals covering these remaining nets will happenWhen everyone starts dissecting this merger deal in public Comcast has the opportunity without prompting to divulge those plans adding that merger deal or no they will overdeliver on their initial diversity promise Rather than 10 networks it should carry 15 or 20 Along with more services crafted by AfricanAmericans and Latinos declare that at least two networks will come from AsianAmerican entrepreneurs and one from Native Americans a group waiting for decades to see a linear basic or digital network showing off their culture history issues and contributions to society 247 Say that these networks featuring original programming will debut before 2018 at the earliest 2020 the latestBy itself this commitment may not get ComcastTime Warner Cable to fruition Consider it a keystone en routeOther observations from the passing paradeIn the weeks leading up to this megamerger news Time Warner Cable here in NYC executed two initiatives that put it more in touch with customers First it staged a Super Bowl week quotStudiosquot showcase near Manhattan39s popular High Line walkway featuring exhibits from HBO to Revolt and Sprout Then taking a page from the Apple store a block away the system opened a new permanent demonstration space on W 23rd St to display coming TV Web and phone services Time Warner systems elsewhere should somehow copycat both initiativesThe production of NBC Universal39s Olympics coverage is firstrate and kudos to both Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira for filling in while NBC primetimelatenight host Bob Costas recovers from an eye infection However more than a week in many journalists covering TV are rushing in with terms like dominant and juggernaut to describe the ratings results No way The primetime ratings are lower than in Vancouver 2010 Roughly 2023 percent of all viewers watching primetime are tuned to NBC on average and when up to 80 percent of all viewers are watching something else that39s not a juggernaut It appears that way because many broadcast and cable networks are not aggressively counterprogramming the coverage AMC is with The Walking Dead and it39s scoring So did CBS39 Beatles special last SundayWhy are NBC39s ratings down Itamp8217s easy to fault the tapedelay My guess The lack of Team USA medals in key sports such as figure skating skiing and speedskating plus no emergence of some athlete or team no matter where in the world they come from that39s transcending the action Look for a ratings freefall the rest of the way if there39s no reversal of fortuneTwo other Olympic points First the Sochi games may in the long run propel people to watch NBC Sports Network more often Second I beg you NBC run the entire closing ceremonies in primetime Don39t break them up as was done in both London and Vancouver so we have to wait past midnight for the finish a la the Academy Awards You do both viewers and your production crew a huge disserviceLooks like El Rey Network will be first on this year39s upfront presentation calendar It goes to bat with a breakfast on February 26 Also early 20th CenturyFox39s syndication unit holding an evening affair featuring Celebrity Name Game and The Late Late Show host Craig Ferguson Don39t believe Geoff the horse or puppets from Late Late will be on handUntil the next time stay well and stay tunedThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaBizBloggerscom management or associated bloggers MediaBizBloggers is an open thought leadership platform and readers may share their comments and opinions in response to all commentaries

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Side-By-Side-By-Comcast and Other Observations from the Passing Parade

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Side-By-Side-By-Comcast and Other Observations from the Passing Parade

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