Originally Posted By: Nick R
Originally Posted By: Cutehumor
Originally Posted By: Nick R
Not exactly. Netflix is footing the bill for direct access to comcast's network, instead of paying a middleman (like cogent) in order to get the video streams into comcast's network. Netflix would have paid that money anyway, to a 3rd party. Now they are just paying comcast directly instead and are likely getting a far wider "pipe" than they were previously getting.
I bet the money comcast is getting, it's way more than a third party would get
That's pure speculation :\
I'm gonna agree with Nick on this one.
Netflix, Cognet, and all the ISPs were having their issues long before the Comcast/Netflix agreement.
Before the Comcast/Netflix agreement, Netflix interfaced with Cognet and Cognet interfaced with the ISPs. Cognet blamed Verizon, Comcast, and TWC for hiccups in the Netflix service and claimed it was because Cognet was protesting price increases. The ISPs claimed they were innocent and, last I read, Verizon's claim of innocence was confirmed: It wasn't an ISP issue.
Look at it from Netflix's perspective. Cognet isn't getting it done. They're having service issues. They're protesting price hikes. They're getting into public finger pointing. None of this is good for business.
The opportunity presents itself to align directly with the largest ISP and cut Cognet from the equation. They take it. Even if it does cost more that it previously did with Cognet (which I doubt), it eliminates a potential service hiccup, eliminates a bunch of headaches, and allows Netflix to tie directly into Comcast's pipe.
Netflix is a hog. Some estimates show Netflix consuming 1/3 of total consumer usage at peak times. If net neutrality rules don't pan out, Netflix needs a plan. Aligning with Comcast and other ISPs now gives Netflix the advantage of negotiating directly with the ISPs on costs, as well as providing a better service for the customers.
