Comcast Fancies Itself The Tesla Of Cable
from the we're-innovative-if-we-say-we-are dept
Despite offering some of the worst customer service ever documented, Comcast has been busy lately trying to convince anybody who'll listen that it's on the cusp of becoming a Silicon-Valley-esque innovation giant. That's an uphill climb for those familiar with the company's often biannual TV rate hikes, attacks on net neutrality, or the company's ongoing quest to sock uncompetitive markets with usage caps. High prices aren't just a result of Comcast's monopoly domination, you see, they're reflections of the incredible value being delivered unto consumers by an innovation engine, the likes of which the universe has never seen.This argument that high cable and broadband prices reflect premium quality is an idea the cable industry has used for years. Before the company was acquired, Time Warner Cable CEO Rob Marcus tried to proclaim that the company's high prices were because it was the "Mercedes" of cable. Continuing this metaphor, Comcast recently told its hometown paper that it too only charged so much because it sees itself as the Mercedes or Tesla of the cable industry:
"We kind of don't want to be Netflix. We don't want an $8 or $9 product," said Sree Kotay, Comcast's former chief software architect and now chief technology officer and executive vice president in the cable division.Yeah, not to knock a Silicon Valley company that has actually been innovative, but we're a luxury brand worth every penny because we say so. Obviously, reality doesn't work that way. Companies that deliver premium product also deliver premium support. Take a look, for example, at Comcast's rating on the American Customer Satisfaction Index (59), and then compare it to companies like Apple (81) or Amazon (83). Even the IRS scores higher than Comcast ever has. And that's thanks, of course, to Comcast having among the worst customer support in the history of modern American industry.
"Not to knock them or anything, but we want to be a Tesla or a Mercedes and be a premium product," Kotay said. "The point of empowering our product and development teams is fundamentally not just about direction and ambition, it's also about tapping into their creativity, and that's how you make great products."
Still, the Philadelphia Inquirer proceeds to do yeoman's work insisting that Comcast's now a hipper, riskier, more innovative company. Why? Because it now has foosball tables and its pricey, locked-down cable boxes suck slightly less than they used to:
"It's part of a big transformation taking place at Comcast: converting a suit-and-tie cable company into a risk-taking Silicon Valley-like tech company that can drive revenue growth outside the cable bundle."Except so far there's no indication that's actually true. While Comcast continues to claim its new, modestly successful X1 cable box is the evidence of a profound sea change at the company, Comcast continues rumbling along with a primary focus on turf protection and harming companies actually busy disrupting.
The cable giant has been fighting tooth and nail against the FCC's quest to bring more competition to the cable box, delivering cheaper, better set tops to all. It has been working tirelessly at capping and metering its broadband customers so that Netflix streaming is more cumbersome and costly. It lobbies for state laws that hamstring innovative public/private solutions to rural broadband gaps. It uses disgusting tactics to fight net neutrality rules protecting startups and consumers from entrenched monopolists. This is a company that thinks it has a right to charge broadband users more for basic privacy.
But yes, other than historically low satisfaction ratings, violent disdain for its customers, and a well-documented history of screwing real innovators and disruptors at every conceivable opportunity, Comcast is just like any other, hungry and innovative Silicon Valley startup. Congratulations, Comcast.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: broadband, customer service, innovation
Companies: comcast, tesla
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
They're Nicola Tesla?
(Apologies to the genius of beloved Mr. Tesla.)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
A Premium Product?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: A Premium Product?
I think Comcast is going with the first.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: A Premium Product?
I mean why pay a few dollars for an antenna that gets you unlimited free HD over the air content when you can pay hundreds a year for the exact same stuff compressed to 480p quality through a cheap and nearly unusable box!
An experience you could not get with any other company (because you are not allowed to go to any other company by law). Premium!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: A Premium Product?
premium
[pree-mee-uh m]
noun
...
5.
a sum above the nominal or par value of a thing.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: A Premium Product?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
That is all too true, the universe is not seeing the innovation or the vale.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Netflix
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Netflix
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
X1 System
Premium, not, get back in line - at the end where you rate.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: X1 System
When I had Comcast a few years ago I had technicians tell me that too (this was a cable modem issue, but same idea). I had one tell me that I would need an amplifier because my house was receiving a weak signal. They added one and no change.
Another tech came out. This time he was competent at his job. Never even had to enter my house. Turns out it was the cable box at the street. When Comcast last came by to run wires they used a really poorly shielded wire to run to the house. Re-ran with quality wire and suddenly everything cleared up and coming in with very strong signals.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
I see an East India Trading Company
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Premium vehicle brand? More like used car salesman.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
The difference, of course, is that I actually want to have Netflix.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Hahahahahahahahahahahah *thud*
Sorry, I fell off my chair.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Innovation
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Comcast Innovation
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
doesn't "premium" imply choice?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Tesla of cable...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Tesla of cable...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
"We're sorry your computer keeps crashing. Please keep your hands on the keyboard at all times."
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
AAAAAAAA
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Wow!
What can I say, when Comcast provides such fodder the comedians will take to their keyboards.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Except of course that Netflix could be seen more like Tesla in how they're disrupting things.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Mercedes has a lot of competition, has a small target base and have no laws in place preventing Hyundai, Toyota or Ford and so on, from selling cars at whatever price they desire.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
They WANT to be
If they said they ARE Mercedes or Tesla I would say that would be good grounds for a libel suite against them from either one of these companies...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]