Comcast's cable side has enjoyed stable growth, while the prospects of its NBCUniversal business are less clear given media industry struggles with changing monetization models and new competition from deep-pocketed entrants, New Street Research analyst Jonathan Chaplin wrote investors Thursday. He said a Comcast bid for Fox and Sky, conditioned on a spinoff of its cable business, would ease regulatory concerns about a Fox deal. NBCU/Fox "would be the most exciting asset in media" with its studios, channels, theme parks and consumer products, and Comcast Cable would have a clearer path to accelerated financial returns and potentially a merger with Charter Communications, Chaplin said. Comcast didn't comment.
Comcast's cable side has enjoyed stable growth, while the prospects of its NBCUniversal business are less clear given media industry struggles with changing monetization models and new competition from deep-pocketed entrants, New Street Research analyst Jonathan Chaplin wrote investors Thursday. He said a Comcast bid for Fox and Sky, conditioned on a spinoff of its cable business, would ease regulatory concerns about a Fox deal. NBCU/Fox "would be the most exciting asset in media" with its studios, channels, theme parks and consumer products, and Comcast Cable would have a clearer path to accelerated financial returns and potentially a merger with Charter Communications, Chaplin said. Comcast didn't comment.
Any CBS/Viacom reunion might not face particularly big regulatory hurdles to clear, experts tell us. For the companies and Wall Street, such a potential deal carries numerous upsides, said Jonathan Taplin, director emeritus, University of Southern California's Annenberg Innovation Lab. "The only potential derailing" is if CBS CEO "Les Moonves says, 'Viacom is so broken, I don't want to take it on,'" Taplin said. But, he added, Moonves "is an ambitious guy; he is smart enough to fix a broken thing."
Any CBS/Viacom reunion might not face particularly big regulatory hurdles to clear, experts tell us. For the companies and Wall Street, such a potential deal carries numerous upsides, said Jonathan Taplin, director emeritus, University of Southern California's Annenberg Innovation Lab. "The only potential derailing" is if CBS CEO "Les Moonves says, 'Viacom is so broken, I don't want to take it on,'" Taplin said. But, he added, Moonves "is an ambitious guy; he is smart enough to fix a broken thing."
NTIA’s spinoff of its oversight of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions now appears likely to happen by the end of June 2016, said ICANN CEO Fadi Chehadé Monday during the ICANN 53 meeting in Buenos Aires. ICANN’s IANA transition planning process, which includes work to modify the nonprofit’s accountability mechanisms, is to be the dominant topic throughout ICANN 53. Stakeholders also plan to focus during the meeting on the search for Chehadé’s successor as head of ICANN and on the future of ICANN’s generic top-level domains program. The meeting ends Thursday (see 1506190061). Chehadé said he’s basing his assessment that NTIA’s current contract with ICANN for the IANA functions may now end just over “a year from today” on feedback from ICANN community leaders on the current status of IANA transition planning.
NTIA’s spinoff of its oversight of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions now appears likely to happen by the end of June 2016, said ICANN CEO Fadi Chehadé Monday during the ICANN 53 meeting in Buenos Aires. ICANN’s IANA transition planning process, which includes work to modify the nonprofit’s accountability mechanisms, is to be the dominant topic throughout ICANN 53. Stakeholders also plan to focus during the meeting on the search for Chehadé’s successor as head of ICANN and on the future of ICANN’s generic top-level domains program. The meeting ends Thursday (see 1506190061). Chehadé said he’s basing his assessment that NTIA’s current contract with ICANN for the IANA functions may now end just over “a year from today” on feedback from ICANN community leaders on the current status of IANA transition planning.
Charter Communications’ proposed buy of Bright House Networks will move forward despite the demise of Comcast/Time Warner, said Charter and Bright House parent Advance/Newhouse in a news release Monday. “The companies have extended their good faith negotiating period for an additional 30 days under the previously announced agreement for Charter to acquire Bright House Networks for $10.4 billion.” The originally announced deal was part of the spinoffs and subscriber exchanges among Comcast, TWC and Charter under terms of Comcast/TWC, but Charter indicated shortly after Comcast withdrew the proposed deal that the Bright House deal could still happen. “The addition of Bright House brings additional scale and strategic flexibility to Charter over time” said Charter CEO Tom Rutledge.
Charter Communications’ proposed buy of Bright House Networks will move forward despite the demise of Comcast/Time Warner, said Charter and Bright House parent Advance/Newhouse in a news release Monday. “The companies have extended their good faith negotiating period for an additional 30 days under the previously announced agreement for Charter to acquire Bright House Networks for $10.4 billion.” The originally announced deal was part of the spinoffs and subscriber exchanges among Comcast, TWC and Charter under terms of Comcast/TWC, but Charter indicated shortly after Comcast withdrew the proposed deal that the Bright House deal could still happen. “The addition of Bright House brings additional scale and strategic flexibility to Charter over time” said Charter CEO Tom Rutledge.
The FCC docket for the Comcast/Time Warner Cable transaction is closed, said the chiefs of the International, Media, Wireless and Wireline bureaus in an order Wednesday. Comcast, TWC, Charter Communications and the spinoff that the deal would have created withdrew their applications Friday (see 1504270038), the order said. The docket’s termination means all parties that filed for access to confidential information have two weeks to “destroy or return to the Submitting Party all Stamped Confidential Documents and Stamped Highly Confidential Documents,” the order said.
The FCC docket for the Comcast/Time Warner Cable transaction is closed, said the chiefs of the International, Media, Wireless and Wireline bureaus in an order Wednesday. Comcast, TWC, Charter Communications and the spinoff that the deal would have created withdrew their applications Friday (see 1504270038), the order said. The docket’s termination means all parties that filed for access to confidential information have two weeks to “destroy or return to the Submitting Party all Stamped Confidential Documents and Stamped Highly Confidential Documents,” the order said.