So, what does this mean for Apple's iTV ambitions? Google's living room ambitions? Amazon's Kindle Fire and Prime ambitions? Netflix, Vudu and a host of others? Does this Comcast/Disney deal mean that live channels of television programming from the major networks -- such as the critical ESPN channels -- will never be available by these other non-cable service providers? Does this mean that the tech giants of today are now frozen out for at least 10 years?
Absolutely not!
So long as these tech titans (such as Apple) act in the same manner as Comcast, then they too will have the privilege of providing those critical television programming channels to their customers. How can they do that? By paying big, big, big -- that's how -- just like Comcast has done with Disney. And, by requiring their customers to act like cable customers -- in other words, by requiring customers who want that premium television programming to pay for it via programming packages accessible only to those who subscribe. In other words, the new Comcast/Disney deal simply means that Apple, Google, Amazon and the others will simply need to act like virtual cable companies -- something that I have long believed is inevitable in any event.
Make no mistake. Although the Disney deal is an important "win" for Comcast, cord cutting from traditional cable providers like Comcast will continue to accelerate ....
