Wheeler created a legacy dystopian novelists only dream about. The article uses netlfix vs amazon for their exclusive example but the true issue is news.
Millions of customers limited to seeing video from one news network. Fox news or CNN or MSNBC. Or one newspaper's video service. Suddenly instead of streaming NY Times you can only reliably view the Washington times or the NY post.
And forget about non profit or advocacy sites competing for mind share against large companies who can get their content delivered with high quality and reliably unbuffered.
This is what concerns me about the public debate surrounding the proposed Comcast/Time Warner merger. Look at the coverage that MSNBC (owned by Comcast) has devoted to the issue, for example[0][1].
Having news agencies very tightly coupled with (and owned by) companies that are lobbying for major policy changes to basic infrastructure and utilities[2] is a recipe for disaster.
Millions of customers limited to seeing video from one news network. Fox news or CNN or MSNBC. Or one newspaper's video service. Suddenly instead of streaming NY Times you can only reliably view the Washington times or the NY post.
And forget about non profit or advocacy sites competing for mind share against large companies who can get their content delivered with high quality and reliably unbuffered.