POSTED BY Nicole Cocozza on October 18, 2013
In an era full of social media, cable television service providers are becoming extinct. In order to keep up to speed with the social media age, cable television providers need to change direction in the way they advertise their services to the public. One service provider in particular, Comcast, has decided to incorporate their cable television service with a popular social media network, Twitter.
Comcast is a global media and technology company with two primary businesses, Comcast Cable and NBC Universal. Currently, Comcast is trying to promote a deal with Twitter that will allow customers to reach certain television shows through Twitter. The unique feature promoted by Comcast is called “See It”. See It will allow Comcast customers to log into their account and access certain clips of television shows by displaying a See It icon at the bottom of Twitter post. This special See It feature will allow customers to watch an on-demand version or record the show. The See It feature is not only beneficial for Comcast, but also a brilliant decision by Twitter. Twitter is allowing for more promotion of television series and connecting with networks.
The partnering of a social media network and television service provider is a bold move by Comcast. The combination of former and modern social entertainment can be beneficial, but also present legal downfalls such as unfair competition among service providers and social media networks. Unfair competition among service providers can lead to lawsuits among cable service providers because this move by Comcast could potentially lead to financial harm to Comcast competitors i.e. Cox or Verizon Fios. Also, other social media networks, such as Facebook and Instagram, may want to claim rights to Comcast’s See It app on their network, which may lead to lawsuits between Twitter and other social media networks, if Twitter were to desire exclusivity. Another potential downfall among television service providers is trade libel. Television service providers may decide to advertise false information about Comcast’s See It app.
Nevertheless, the combination of television service providers and social media networks is a courageous move by Comcast. In order to keep up with a society that is rapidly invested in social media, television service providers need to make a change. There may be a few legal downfalls by this move by Comcast, but if they do not change to keep pace with a social media society they may soon become obsolete.
