When I wrote a review of Susan Crawford’s Captive Audience two months ago, I didn’t expect to be revisiting it so quickly. Then came the news that Comcast was planning to buy Time Warner Cable, gaining a few million more customers and several regional sports networks. With the acquisition of NBC, Comcast is clearly making a play to be in the content business. There’s not much growth potential left in being a service provider, so it makes sense that Comcast would want to hedge their bets. That’s why I suspect they’re more interested in acquiring regional sports nets (live sports being one of the main reasons people don’t cut the cord) than the few million subscribers they’d pick up if the deal is approved.

It’s not like Comcast and Time Warner were really competing, despite how “competitive” the FCC and Comcast claimed the industry to be a few years ago. The cable companies largely have agreed not to step on each others’ toes. In most places, customers have exactly one choice for cable TV provider. Individual consumers will see no difference in the competitive landscape, so it’s easy to dismiss this as a non-issue (as I initially did). Where this may get interesting is when it comes time for networks to renegotiate carriage agreements. Comcast would have greater leverage to low-ball content providers, potentially squeezing a few out of business. As long as other modes of TV exist (e.g. satellite, AT&T U-Verse), I expect Comcast will remain somewhat constrained in their ability to harm content providers, but they’ll continue to be able to prevent competition from sprouting up.

Of course, it’s not guaranteed that this buyout will occur. Despite the relative ease with which the FCC and the Department of Justice approved Comcast’s purchase of NBC, the landscape has changed somewhat. Denying AT&T’s purchase of T-Mobile was a surprisingly pro-consumer decision, and it’s possible that this deal is doomed as well. I don’t follow Washington closely enough to say what’s likely. All I know is that I can’t wait for Metronet to extend their fiber offering to my neighborhood. I’ve been told it may happen as early as next month.