The Comcast ruling and its effect on film/video distribution

The Comcast ruling is important for a number of reasons. Some of those reasons are related to film and video.


A little background:
For the past two years, I've been researching digital video distribution. My long term goal is to build a viable distribution model for micro-budget filmmakers.


Comcast vs. Peer to Peer (P2P):
A P2P system such as Bit Torrent could have been an audience building tool. Since Comcast's new power allows it to slow P2P traffic, I won't consider it. P2P already has several problems. One of those is the popularity factor. If a file placed on a P2P network isn't popular, it is difficult to download.


Another issues is speed. P2P networks can be very slow and many "seeders" (the people who host the files) will sign out during a download. Before Hulu was released, I used to download t.v. episodes via Bit Torrent. It was a painfully slow experience which I am happy to trade for the occasional Hulu advertisement. I'm also not interested in participating in a network frequented by movie pirates.


Why the Comcast ruling creeps me out:
Comcast and NBC are currently trying to merge. If their merger is approved and this ruling stands, services that legitimately distribute non-NBC video content might be slowed down. The ruling allows Comcast to slow down any service which it perceives as a traffic hog. Competitive services can be legitimately slowed down, if Comcast can prove that they are traffic hogs. Skype is a prime target since it uses Comcast's network to offer a competitive phone service.


A possible post-merger scenario:
In this scenario, the merged Comcast/NBC decides to place NBC content exclusively on its own streaming video service. The merged company also decides to remove its support and content from Hulu. Once it no longer needs Hulu, Comcast slows down Hulu's traffic. After all, Hulu does attract a large amount of Internet traffic. YouTube, which is attempting to offer legitimate content, faces a similar dilemma.


Deja Vu:
A merged Comcast/NBC will own content creation and distribution. Before 1948, movie studios owned content creation and distribution by vertically integrating (owning) theater chains. These studios participated in several types of monopolistic behavior until United States v. Paramount forced them to sell their theater chains.


Effect on Internet radio:
Comcast offers the Rhapsody Plus service to its subscribers for free, but is not otherwise involved in internet radio. Likely targets are services that use large amounts of bandwidth. My favorite Internet radio station, Pandora, draws enough traffic to be a target for Comcast. My 2nd favorite station, Radio Caroline, is my backup option.


Conclusion:
If Comcast is allowed to control the traffic on its system, the world isn't going to end. If P2P (which I don't use) is throttled down, Comcast customers will receive better bandwidth. As a potential customer, I'm not completely against Comcast's new ability to control traffic on the network it owns.


I am against a merged Comcast/NBC that can legally slow down competitor services. Monopolistic behavior creates entry barriers for small companies and stifles competition. I'll update this post when a decision on the Comcast/NBC merger has been made.