Cohen

Comcast’s top lobbyist and executive vice president is more than one million dollars richer after unloading 31,011 shares of Comcast stock.

David Cohen, a familiar face to those following Congressional hearings on the Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger, sold some of his shares last Thursday for an average price of $51.81 each, bringing him $1,606,679.91 in proceeds. Despite the sale, Cohen still owns 148,765 shares of Comcast worth $7.7 million.

Comcast opened this week at 52.03 on Monday. The stock had a 52-week low of $38.75 and a 52-week high of $55.28.

Cohen’s pay package for 2013:

• Salary: $1,365,140
• Restricted stock awards: $3,481,575
• All other compensation: $1,264,243
• Stock Option awards: $2,763,200
• Non-equity incentive plan compensation: $3,003,308
• Change in pension value and nonqualified deferred compensation earnings: $2,079,985
• Total Compensation: $13,957,451

Comcast customers in Philadelphia are organizing to stop the cable company from winning a 15-year franchise renewal to continue providing service in the city unless the cable operator changes its ways after years of rate increases and poor customer service.

CAP Comcast! argues Comcast is not paying its fair share and is not a good corporate citizen in the city.

“Comcast has outsized power in a Philadelphia still suffering under economic crisis,” says the group. While the company charges some of the highest cable rates in the country, it has successfully earned $64 billion in revenue and an extremely low corporate tax bill.

“During the last franchise negotiation, Philadelphia elected officials and appointed leaders secured important resources for our city, including funds for public access television, and about $17 million a year for Philadelphia’s general fund,” said Bryan Mercer, co-executive director at Media Mobilizing Project. “But since that time, Philadelphia has shuttered over 20 schools and slashed services that our communities need.  Comcast pays less than 4% in corporate tax revenue, in a state where the average is almost 10%. And they’re getting $40 million in subsidies for their new planned building. If Comcast wants a chance to profit from our communities, Philadelphia should ensure Comcast pays their fair share, or invite other communications companies to serve our city.”

Among the group’s key arguments:

CAP Comcast! is asking for a five-year rate freeze for Comcast services while increasing broadband speeds and access to all Philadelphians. It also seeks fair treatment for Public, Educational, and Government access channels, expanded affordable Internet access without pre-conditions, involvement in solving local community problems, support of worker rights, and an end to passing along the cost of the franchise fee to customers.

The group has a petition on its website.

[flv]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/Comcast Tell Comcast to Pay Its Fair Share 5-2014.mp4[/flv]

CAP Comcast! produced this video introducing its campaign to prevent another 15 year franchise for Comcast in Philadelphia unless the company changes its ways. (2:51)

All Jim Frey wanted from Comcast was cable service for his new home in Joliet, Ill. Instead, the installer ruined his home’s air conditioning system and then passed the buck to Comcast, keeping Frey waiting more than a month for a resolution. Regular maintenance is essential to keep your home cool, so make sure to get the right hvac services. If you need air conditioning service or AC repair, then get in touch with Ambrose Air in Orlando. You may also want to consider specific regional needs like Indianapolis heating repair service for comprehensive home comfort solutions. It’s important that you know how to tell if furnace ignitor is bad so that you can contact an expert to fix it immediately.

Frey suspected there might be trouble as soon as the installer pulled out his oversized drill.

“He had a bit that was well over a foot long that he was using,” Frey said of the April 1 incident. “I don’t know why he would need a bit that long because the walls aren’t that thick.”

While installing a phone jack, the installer explained he thought he hit a stud inside the wall but instead of pausing to investigate, he just kept on drilling… right through Frey’s air conditioner, seriously damaging its expensive condensing unit.

“Time to install a phone jack.”

After apologizing, the technician took pictures of the damage and left Frey with the names and numbers of his two supervisors.

Frey told the Chicago Tribune’s Troubleshooter that Comcast initially seemed less than engaged in addressing the problem, telling Frey to find and call area repair shops and produce at least two estimates for the repairs. When Frey informed Comcast some of the repair companies charged an upfront fee of up to $90 to visit Frey’s home and offer a quote, the cable company balked at paying the bill and told Frey they would handle it themselves.

Only they didn’t.

Three weeks later, Frey learned from a repair company he consulted on his own that the repairs would cost $2,500, or he could buy a new air conditioner for $2,200-2,700. Comcast’s supervisors refused to commit to either option, leaving Frey to start over with Comcast’s customer service line, where he was given a ticket number and a brush-off.

“They keep telling me they are waiting on their contractor,” Frey said. “I don’t understand why it is taking so long to get someone to even estimate the damage and put together a plan. It won’t be long before hot weather is upon us and I am stuck. I just want some money for the repair and I will get it done if needed. I understand they want to save a little money, but all they want to do is put a Band-Aid on this thing and hope I’ll go away.”

Frey took his problem to the Chicago Tribune’s Problem Solver, who in turn contacted a Comcast spokesperson.

The following day, a technician, from a renowned AC installation company, arrived at Frey’s house with a new air conditioner, telling Frey it was a higher-efficiency unit than his damaged one.

Somebody also mentioned to Mr. Frey that whether it’s regular maintenance, tune-up, or replacement and repair services, he gets nothing but the best from these cooling service professionals here!

“We sincerely apologize to Mr. Frey for the damage to his air-conditioning unit and the delay in inspecting it,” added a Comcast spokesman.

MSNBC: The hoi polloi of DC and beyond mingle at the MSNBC after party at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.
Comcast pays the bills.

After the inside-the-beltway media and a who’s who of D.C. political celebrities finished hobnobbing at this weekend’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Capitol Hill and White House staffers that usually spend their free time at Starbucks or the nearest watering hole were treated to something special this year, courtesy of everybody’s favorite cable company.

Comcast, using the MSNBC brand to keep things from being too obvious, splurged on an after-party-to-remember at the National Building Museum. Only a select crowd got invitations to the bash, featuring hand-rolled cigars and the best cigar cutters, Bravo’s Top Chef contestants preparing their signature dishes, an open bar, and plush couches to enjoy a set played by Jimmy Eat World.

“We see a lot of money thrown around D.C., but not money like this. They pulled out all the stops,” an insider who works closely with NBC told New York magazine. “I go to 200 events a year. And this is like, whoa.”

In addition to MSNBC’s on-air talent, the invitation list focused on Congress and White House staffers, a group normally left off the guest list of corporate-sponsored receptions and dinners.

It is no coincidence the bash was being paid for by Comcast, which is currently currying favor for its $45 billion deal to acquire Time Warner Cable.

“These are all staffers that go out for five-dollar happy hours; they don’t get invited to stuff like this,” the insider said.

“The committee staffers, they advise their bosses, the harried senators and congressmen who don’t have enough time to do their own research on whether or not the merger makes sense,” the insider added. They are going to come in here and they are going to drink and eat, they’re going to bring their girlfriend and they’re going to get laid, and then they’ll go, ‘Wow, this Comcast-Time Warner thing is not such a bad thing.'”

AT&T has approached DirecTV about a possible acquisition of the satellite provider in a deal expected to fetch at least $40 billion, spare change for AT&T’s $185 billion operation.

The Wall Street Journal reports the deal would combine DirecTV’s 20 million customers with AT&T’s 5.7 million U-verse customers, rivaling the size of a combined Comcast and Time Warner Cable.

The idea for the merger came after Comcast and Time Warner Cable struck their deal in February, and a person familiar with the merger talks reports DirecTV is receptive to a deal with AT&T. AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson reportedly saw the next wave of consolidation in the American cable market as a potential game-changer, forcing AT&T to refocus its growth priorities back towards the United States instead of Europe.

Satellite companies like Dish and DirecTV are at an increasing disadvantage because growth in television subscriptions has stalled. Neither satellite company has a competitive broadband offering, and as more Americans gain access to wired broadband, many choose to bundle service with the company that provides Internet access.

DirecTV’s growth has fallen every year since 2010 and starting in 2013, the company began losing more subscribers than it signed up.

A combined AT&T-DirecTV would market satellite television nationwide, U-verse TV and Internet where available, wireless phone and broadband service, and rural satellite Internet access.

AT&T has explored an acquisition of a satellite provider for more than a decade and already partners with DirecTV to sell AT&T landline customers a bundle including the satellite provider’s television service.

As with most significant acquisitions proposed by AT&T, the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission will likely scrutinize any merger deal carefully. Both companies must prove the deal is in the public interest. But the Journal reports the FCC might be amenable to the deal because it considers satellite television without broadband a threatened business. Lobbyists are likely to argue the joint company would be the best positioned to compete effectively with a combined Comcast-Time Warner Cable.

If a deal appears likely, Dish Network is expected to face immediate pressure to also merge with an existing cable or telephone company.

Another alternative attempted in the past was a direct merger between DirecTV and Dish, an idea regulators nixed more than a decade ago. Today, such a deal would not solve either company’s difficulty providing broadband service.

Consumer groups are likely to oppose the merger because it further consolidates an industry they believe already sorely lacks competition. AT&T’s lawyers are reportedly already laying the foundation for a major lobbying campaign to promote the deal.

[flv]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WSJ ATT Approaches DirecTV for Merger 5-1-14.flv[/flv]

The Wall Street Journal provides more insight into the proposed merger of AT&T and DirecTV and how government regulators are likely to see the deal. (2:51)