An Ignoble Experiment

2. Google chairman: Internet can handle NFL live streaming

Executives at Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) and Charter Communications (Nasdaq: CHTR) have had preliminary talks aimed at acquiring Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC), which could help each operator expand cable system clusters in Los Angeles, New York and other markets, Bloomberg reported Saturday.

Officials at Charter, Time Warner Cable and Comcast declined to comment.

While Charter and investor Liberty Media (Nasdaq: LMCA) have been touting the benefits of consolidation for several months, Comcast CFO Michel Angelakis said in July that the nation's largest cable MSO was more focused on expanding internationally through deals involving its NBCUniversal subsidiary. But striking a deal with TWC could help Comcast expand its cable system clusters in Florida, New York and Texas. And Charter could create efficiencies in marketing, advertising, sales and operations in areas where it operates near TWC systems, including Los Angeles and the Carolinas.

Word of a possible joint bid from Comcast and Charter for Time Warner Cable has drawn comparisons to a deal that Comcast and TWC struck in 2006 to acquire nearly all of the cable systems that were owned by Adelphia Communications. In addition to splitting up Adelphia systems in New York, Massachusetts and several other states, TWC and Comcast agreed to swap several cable systems. Those transactions helped TWC gain an additional 3.3 million subscribers, while Comcast picked up 1.7 million subscribers.

There were also reports earlier this year that Charter and investor Liberty Media were looking to acquire Cox Communications, and some industry observers have suggested that it would make sense to combine Cablevision (NYSE: CVC), which owns systems in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, with Time Warner Cable or Comcast.

Cox said in a statement Monday that the MSO, which went private in 2004, isn't looking to sell its cable systems in New England, Arizona, Nevada and other markets. "I have no comment on the latest rumors involving some of our cable brethren, but I want to be clear on one thing: Cox Communications is not for sale," spokesman Todd Smith wrote in an email.

For more:
- Bloomberg has this story

Read more about: Charter Communications, Comcast
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By Steve Donohue

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3. Apple confirms acquisition of PrimeSense

The National Football League could use the Internet to stream live games, but whether the nation's most popular sport moves to virtual distribution is "completely a business issue," Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) Chairman Eric Schmidt said Friday.

Schmidt noted at the Paley International Council Summit in New York that even wireless carriers have the capabilities to stream live football games. "I'm also very impressed that Verizon (NYSE: VZ), and AT&T's (NYSE: T) tough competition between them has produced 20,30 megabits brought to your mobile devices. That's an extraordinary shift in [the last] five years," he added.

Schmidt's remarks, in response to a question from BTIG analyst Rich Greenfield, came three months after Google CEO Larry Page held a meeting with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell that reportedly included discussion about Google acquiring the "NFL Sunday Ticket" subscription video package.

DirecTV's (Nasdaq: DTV) exclusive "Sunday Ticket" distribution contract, which costs it about $1 billion annually, expires at the end of the 2014 season.

Greenfield said in a research note on Friday that it's only a matter of time until Google or another major tech company acquires a "meaningful package of sports rights."

"Schmidt's comments make us believe the only issue standing in the way of a virtual MVPD [multichannel video programming distributor] becoming a reality is the capital to launch (guaranteeing subs to programmers and start-up marketing costs)," Greenfield added.

In June, Verizon Wireless signed a deal with the NFL that will allow its subscribers to watch live games produced by Fox and CBS in their home markets, in addition to playoff games and the Super Bowl, beginning in 2014. But no tech company has signed a deal yet with the league that involves exclusive rights to football games.

For more:
- see Greenfield's note (reg. required)

Read more about: Eric Schmidt, Google
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By Tammy Parker

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4. Verizon plugs $80 monthly FiOS triple play

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) confirmed yesterday that it is the new owner of PrimeSense, the Tel Aviv-based developer of 3D-based gesture recognition technology.

In a comment cited by multiple media outlets, Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet said, "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans."

The Wall Street Journal said "a person familiar with the acquisition" placed the deal's value at $350 million, while AllThingsD reported that Apple paid around $360 million for the startup. Speculation regarding a potential deal between Apple and PrimeSense began back in July, at which time a $280 million to $300 million price tag was kicked around.

PrimeSense's technology was used in Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) original Xbox 360 game console. The newly launched Xbox One includes gesture recognition software developed in house at Microsoft, using technology it gained in its acquisition of PrimeSense rival Canesta.

PrimeSense has earlier raised funding exceeding $80 million from firms such as Silver Lake Sumeru, Canaan Partners, Gemini Israel and Genesis Partners, the Wall Street Journal said.

Though Apple has its hands on PrimeSense, it is unclear exactly what the Cupertino, Calif., company intends to do with the startup's technology. Speculation has ranged from the addition to 3D-recognition capabilities in iPhones and iPads to use of the technology in the long-rumored Apple TV project or even an Apple smartwatch.

Bloomberg noted Apple has been on an acquisition spree lately. So far this year, the company has bought Passif Semiconductor, navigation-software company Embark, online transit-navigation service HopStop.com, business-locations maps company Locationary and indoor-positioning technology company WifiSLAM.

For more:
- see this Globes article
- see this Wall Street Journal article (sub. req.)
- see this AllThingsD article
- see this BBC article

Read more about: augmented reality, Apple
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By Steve Donohue

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