The "End" of the TV World as we (customers) know it......

It is all over the news this morning.  Comcast will be taking control of NBC Universal.  Great.  When Comcast took over the VS (versus) channel, those of us on DirectTV lost our only access to NHL Games on our television sets – that is unless we wanted to pony up $160 per year to purchase NHL Center Ice – a premium package.  Why?  Because Comcast shot the rate through the roof for the VS channel, and DirectTV refused to pay, leaving hockey fans on a limited budget in the dark. 

 

Now that Comcast will control of the likes of Bravo, E Television, NBC, CNBC, MSNBC, USA Network, Syfy, A&E, The History Channel, Biography, Universal Studios, Lifetime, (and the list goes on and on), can it only be a matter of months (or days) until they jack the rates for DirectTV to access some of the most popular channels on Television today (or the internet – as NBC-Universal also holds stake in Hulu.com).  And can it be only a matter of months (or days) until DirectTV says “we aren’t paying it” and announces to its customers that any of the channels now owned by Comcast will no longer be carried on DirectTV?  

 

Even more important, will it be only a matter of months – or yet again days – before Comcast cuts off all access to any other provider and says “Welcome Comcast Customers” to a whole host of new customers, who can’t get the content anywhere else?

 

Global domination by one entertainment company?  Yup, the free market in TV is about to die…and since Comcast has been accused (and found guilty) of slowing down streams on the internet for its customers – I am assuming the death is going to be a slow, painful one.