A deal to put Netflix on set-top boxes...
A deal to put Netflix on set-top boxes might help cable operators avoid new regulations on broadband pricing, said Guggenheim Partners analyst Paul Gallant in an email Tuesday to investors. “Netflix is the probably the most prominent edge firm that…
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has urged greater FCC oversight of usage-based pricing as well as peering/paid peering arrangements,” he said. “A deal between cable operators and Netflix could limit that advocacy, to the benefit of cable operators.” Gallant said remarks by U.S Circuit Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit judges during oral argument in the Verizon’s net neutrality case indicate cable companies might receive more flexibility to make deals with content providers. If that happens, cable companies would have more leverage in dealing with Netflix, so a deal might wait until after the court rules in the case, said Gallant. He also said a recent effort by the Canadian government to pursue a la carte cable doesn’t mean the U.S. is likely to do the same anytime soon. An a la carte bill in the U.S. Senate hasn’t generated much interest, and a lawsuit on the issue by Cablevision against Viacom isn’t likely to be replicated, Gallant said. He said it’s not clear what stance FCC Chairman nominee Tom Wheeler has on a la carte cable, but he would “encounter powerful opposition from content companies and broadcasters should he look into bundling, and doing so could complicate other top FCC priority items."