This is regarding “Comcast out to snare Disney; Eisner rejected merger proposal from cable king” (Page 1, Feb. 12).
This Comcast news has me furious.
Simply put, Comcast is a distribution channel. In my area (outside Chicago), there are no other cable providers.
If I want television programming beyond the local channels, my only alternative is satellite TV.
After several years, Comcast’s incessant price increases finally drove me to it.
And several friends have done likewise because of the ever-increasing prices for basic cable service.
So how does Comcast address this competition? By trying to buy the suppliers (the programmers). Of course, these are the same suppliers that provide content for its competition.
Can we guess what will happen then?
In its quest to become a monopoly, if successful, it will be able to raise the price (for ESPN and Disney’s other content) to any price it wants–and satisfy its goal of eliminating satellite TV.
If we think cable prices are high now, just wait.
