Blog Post 1

In April of 2014, both Netflix and Verizon came to an agreement.  This agreenment established a direct connection between the two companies to improve service for users (Gustin).  Only months before however, both Netflix and Comcast agreed to a similar deal (Gustin).  This is a significant issue in the world of new media.  Large network distributers such as Comcast and Verizon have the power to put internet companies like Netflix in a position where they will have to pay for bandwidth services to them directly, as opposed to an online “middleman.”  Bandwidth in lamens terms is defined as the speed or rate at which the internet reaches a device. Netflix on the other hand is on the losing end because they will ulimately be paying more fees.  Netflix had already agreed earlier in the year to pay the interconnection fees through the smaller bandwidth providers such as Cogent Communications for example (Reardon).  Cogent’s stock had plumitated once this deal was made.  Netflix suggests that Comcast is to blame because it's violating principles of net neutrality, which are all about keeping the Internet free and open (Reardon). 

According to McChesney’s article U.S Media at the Dawn of the 21^st Century, conglomerates include television networks, cable channels, film studios, and music studios (p.6).  Having conglomerates such as Verizon and Comcast creates a great deal of controversy.  These giant corporations get to reap the benefits because they surpased the law put in place by the FCC, which is a regulation on net neutrality.  This does not satisfy the needs of the people because ulimtately they will be paying more money and for some, there is a lost sense of Democracy knowing that these rich businessman are only concerned with making money at the expense of others.  “Not only are all of the markets oligopolies, where almost all of the main players are owned by a handful of firms, the media giants also tend to work quite closely together” (McChesney, p.8).  These only leaves speculation in the public’s eye of who really is in charge.        

Works Cited:

http://time.com/80192/netflix-verizon-paid-peering-agreement/
http://www.cnet.com/news/comcast-vs-netflix-is-this-really-about-net-neutrality/