Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) withdrew a complaint against DirecTV Group Inc. (NYSE: DTV) late last week over allegations that ads touting the NFL Sunday Ticket package as "free" were misleading because users were subject to early cancellation fees. Comcast said it yanked the complaint after DirecTV altered or halted the ads, but the satellite TV giant asserted that the campaign will go on, claiming that the MSO "lost the TRO [temporary restraining order] last week and they withdrew their case today [Aug. 19] because they knew they were going to lose." Glad that's all cleared up.
Cox Communications Inc. President Pat Esser and Motorola Mobility LLC Chairman and CEO Sanjay Jha will set the tone at the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE)Cable-Tec Expo on Nov. 15 with a discussion about cable's IP video and TV Everywhere ambitions, but show organizers have also drawn execs from some of cable's top suppliers for a follow-up panel to feature Arris Group Inc. (Nasdaq: ARRS) Chairman and CEO Bob Stanzione; Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) Service Provider Group CTO Bob McIntyre; Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC) VP and CTO Justin Rattner; Moto Mobility President Dan Moloney; and Samsung Americas SVP of Home Entertainment Product Marketing John Revie.
Given DirecTV's shrugging off the importance of Hulu to their long-term TV Everywhere plans, I'd have go guess they are already an also-ran. Who needs Hulu the most out of the anticipated bidders. MSFT has also been mentioned to be in the mix, but at this point I'd put Google out front, if they want to spruce up the next version of Google TV and/or give YouTube access to some premium content, especially if it has designs on offering subscription-based video services. JB
Given DirecTV's shrugging off the importance of Hulu to their long-term TV Everywhere plans, I'd have go guess they are already an also-ran. Who needs Hulu the most out of the anticipated bidders. MSFT has also been mentioned to be in the mix, but at this point I'd put Google out front, if they want to spruce up the next version of Google TV and/or give YouTube access to some premium content, especially if it has designs on offering subscription-based video services. JB