The Comcast-Netflix Deal May Not Be a Bad Thing After All

[Commentary] The Netflix-Comcast deal is a big change in the way the Internet works, and the critics are right that it could represent a new shift in power towards big ISPs, big media companies, and prominent web operations like Netflix. We could see a situation where only deep-pocketed companies can pay for the sort of access Netflix now has. And let’s not forget that Comcast is also a TV and movie corporation that competes with companies like Netflix. It can stream TV and movies over its own network however it wants. But the deal doesn’t have to be a bad thing. The real implications of the agreement won’t be clear until we learn whether up-and-coming players and smaller Internet media companies, the next wave following in the footsteps of Netflix, are shut out of the picture -- whether they end up needing direct access to an ISP like Comcast and whether they can play for it.