comcast

Cable, satellite see quarterly loss of TV subscribers

That loud snipping sound is a greater number of Americans cutting the cord and ditching their cable and satellite TV subscriptions. That's the verdict today in an analysis done by the Associated Press of the pay TV companies' quarterly earnings reports.

The AP tallied lost subscribers from eight of the top nine providers, including Comcast and Time Warner cable, Verizon, AT&T, DirecTV, and Dish Network. Cox Communications was not included because it is a private company and does not disclose subscriber numbers, but AP said it has captured 70 percent of households in its survey and found … Read more

Verizon workers go on strike

Comcast offers a $9.95 Internet Essentials service to low-income families, the FBI releases an iPhone app that helps parents with a missing child, and Verizon workers in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic go on strike after negotiations fail to produce a contract.

Links from Monday's episode of Loaded:

Verizon workers go on strike HP TouchPad 4G and $50 in the App Catalog Education iMac? AntiSec hackers post police data Comcast $10 Internet Essentials plan FBI Child IDapp in App Store Subscribe: iTunes (MP3) | iTunes (320x180) | iTunes (HD) | RSS (MP3) | RSS (320x180) | RSS HD

Comcast gets boost from NBC Universal

NBC Universal gave Comcast a boost in the second quarter as the cable operator announced a 16 percent jump in profits.

Comcast also said it lost fewer pay-TV subscribers and saw broadband subscriber growth surge, besting its phone company rivals.

Net income rose to $1.02 billion, or 37 cents a share, from $884 million, or 31 cents a share, a year earlier, Comcast said in its second quarter earnings statement. Excluding certain costs, profit was up about 17 percent to 42 cents a share.

The company got a boost its NBC Universal unit. The second quarter was the first … Read more

Yahoo would reportedly buy Hulu under right terms

Yahoo would pay up to $2 billion to acquire Hulu if the deal came with four or five years of exclusive access to current TV shows and older movies, according a story in yesterday's Business Insider.

Citing a "source familiar with Yahoo's M&A plans," Business Insider said that Hulu's owners would have to guarantee the exclusive access before Yahoo's corporate development people would present such a deal to their board of directors.

However, that type of deal may be tough to swing.

Hulu's owners have reportedly been willing to offer the … Read more

Nine Netflix alternatives

Netflix recently announced price increases that upset a lot of customers, to say the least.

Whether or not you're planning to cancel your own Netflix account, it's good to know what alternatives are out there. Here are nine Netflix alternatives:

DVD rental

Redbox Redbox rents physical discs through strategically located kiosks inside retail stores. You may have already seen them in your local drug store or grocery market; the all-red kiosks are hard to miss. To rent a title, you walk up to a kiosk, make your selection, and pay for it. For added convenience, you can also … Read more

Comcast shows off next-generation broadband, TV

CHICAGO--Comcast showed off 1 gigabit-per-second downloads and cloud-based channel surfing here today as it demonstrated features for its next-generation broadband and TV services.

CEO Brian Roberts took the stage at the National Cable & Telecommunications Association's Cable Show, where he showed how the company's hybrid-coaxial infrastructure is capable of delivering a 1GB connection to the home. Using an 11-mile demonstration cable network, he showed how an entire season of the hit show "30 Rock" in HD could be downloaded in just 1 minute and 39 seconds. Roberts commented that with slower, older connections, this download could … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1489: 7073, people, keep it simple (Podcast)

The most common iPhone passcodes are revealed on today's show (no, not by LulzSec), but Tong has a pager-callback suggestion for all of us. A proposal in Congress would force U.S. companies to actually tell us when they're hacked and our data is stolen (yes, please), and Rojadirecta becomes the people's hero in challenging the government's domain-name seizures. Go, Rojadirecta, go!

Skype to bring video chat to Comcast subscribers

CHICAGO--Cable giant Comcast is teaming up with Skype to offer its subscribers video calling on their TVs, in a move that could bring more affordable video conferencing to the home.

On the eve of the Cable Show here, the companies today announced that Comcast will be offering the Skype service through the TV to its broadband subscribers. The companies are still working out all the details of the service, and they're expected to begin testing it in the next few months. The Cable Show is an annual conference and trade show, where cable operators from around the country gather. … Read more

Comcast expands into home security biz

Comcast is getting into the home security business.

The company plans to announce tomorrow that it's expanding its Xfinity Home Security service. Last year the company began testing the service in Houston. Now it's adding six more cities. Additional cities that will get the new service include parts of Philadelphia; Portland, Ore.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Sarasota/Naples, Fla.; Chattanooga, Tenn.; and Nashville.

The Xfinity Home Security service offers traditional home security features, such as police and fire alarm protection with 24-hour monitoring. It also offers some home automation functions, such as the ability to adjust thermostats and lights remotely. … Read more

Comcast to offer identity fraud protection service

Comcast is expanding its free Constant Guard anti-botnet service for Xfinity customers to add identity fraud detection to its anti-malware and secure backup service.

The Internet service provider launched a trial of Constant Guard in 2009 and took it nationwide last September, alerting customers when their computers appear to have been compromised by malware.

On Thursday, the company will be adding Identity Guard from Intersections Inc. to its Norton Security Suite and Secure Backup & Share service. The services are free with an Xfinity Internet service subscription.

Customers can pay more for additional identity fraud protection services such as proactive … Read more