If there's forced neutrality, 100% of building out services provided by cable and telecom companies fall to the consumer. It's going to price true broadband out of the reach of consumers, and therefore there won't be an investment case of building it in the first place. |
Investors are likely to be relieved, as well, by the relatively limited capital commitments imposed by such a strategy. |
It is not entirely a surprise that the deal fell apart. Valuations in the sector have fallen dramatically since the initial offer was made. |
It?s something else in their arsenal, |
It's interesting to note that while per subscriber valuations have fallen for public (cable companies), they remain relatively strong in the private market. |
More than any one figure, that's the figure that's going to determine just how big this market is over the long term. We're trending toward more and more of the industry coming from radios that are factory-installed in new cars. Are you going to get 60 percent of those customers to sign up as subscribers, or is the number going to be closer to 50, or is it going to keep going lower? |
Overall, the quarter was very close to investor expectations. Every key metric was largely as expected. |
Ratings are strong, which is good for advertising, but it is being offset by the renegotiation of affiliate fees, |
Ratings are strong, which is good for advertising, but it is being offset by the renegotiation of affiliate fees. |
That could be posturing, |
That could raise the cost of digital video recorders in the home. |
That would have hurt both fees and operating income. |
That, coupled with the confusion around the announcements of covenant defaults, doesn't mean good news for the stock. |
The company's governance remains highly unpredictable. |
The costs of these networks are far beyond what the returns of the new services can provide. |