Comcast CEO: Online video is a friend, not a foe

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts is not buying into the "cord cutting" scare supposedly posed by online video. In comments made at The Cable Show in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, Roberts said the explosion of online video activity is a "friend, not foe" to cable providers like Comcast.

While the substitution of online video offerings for cable TV packages could prove to be an issue in the future, data does not support a full-fledged migration yet. Additionally, Roberts said he sees huge opportunity in supplying the broadband connectivity to view high-quality online video programming, as broadband Internet provision is Comcast's fastest growing business unit.

He also noted online video has more promise to monetize products for cable networks during the present advertising slump. Roberts maintained online video did not have to be a substitutive offering, rather, it could be a revenue-driving complement to the cableco's other offerings. 

For more:
- see the Wall Street Journal article here

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