Getting a clearer picture on Netflix-Comcast deal

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http://www.adn.com/2014/02/24/3343933/getting-a-clearer-picture-on-netflix.html



FILE - In this Aug. 6, 2009 file photo, the Comcast logo is displayed on a TV set in North Andover, Mass. After years of bickering, Netflix and Comcast are finally working together to provide their subscribers with a more enjoyable experience when they’re watching movies and old television shows over high-speed Internet connections. The new partnership is part of a breakthrough announced Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014, that requires Comcast’s Internet service to create new avenues for Netflix’s video to travel on its way to TVs and other devices.

Getting a clearer picture on Netflix-Comcast deal
By MICHAEL LIEDTKE
AP Technology Writer
February 24, 2014 Updated 29 minutes ago

SAN FRANCISCO — After years of bickering, Netflix and Comcast are working together to provide their subscribers with a more enjoyable experience when they're watching movies and television shows over high-speed Internet connections.

The new partnership is part of a breakthrough announced Sunday that requires Comcast's Internet service to create new avenues for Netflix's video to travel on its way to TVs and other devices. In return for the improved access, Netflix will pay Comcast an undisclosed amount of money for the next few years.

The arrangement represents an about-face for Netflix Inc., which had steadfastly refused to pay high-speed Internet service providers already collecting $40 to $60 per month from its customers. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings had contended that his company's Internet video service is one of the main reasons why households pay for broadband, making it unreasonable for Internet service providers such as Comcast Corp. to demand additional money from content providers.

Comcast and other broadband providers argued Netflix's growing popularity should require the Los Gatos, Calif., company to shoulder some of the financial burden for delivering its video. In evening hours, Netflix's 33 million U.S. subscribers generate nearly a third of the Internet's downloading activity, according to the research firm Sandvine.