Why Netflix is getting behind a huge cable merger

Charter just attracted a really important ally in its attempt to purchase Time Warner Cable, making it that much more likely that federal regulators will approve the $55 billion mega-deal. Netflix is endorsing the Charter-TWC acquisition after meeting with the cable company to discuss how it will preserve competition online. In a regulatory filing, Netflix says the Charter deal could offer "substantial public interest benefit" -- if it follows through on a new promise. What does that promise look like, and what has Netflix singing Charter's praises after it so strenuously opposed Comcast's bid for TWC? Well, Charter is offering not to charge Netflix and other content companies any fees in exchange for accepting their traffic and carrying it to end users like you and me.

You may remember that this issue, known as "interconnection," caused a big dispute between Netflix and Internet providers such as Comcast. When a surge of Netflix video began arriving at those companies' doorsteps, they argued that Netflix should cover the cost of expanding the pipes to let that data in. Netflix strongly opposed the practice but wound up signing commercial deals with those companies anyway. And Netflix was among the Comcast-TWC merger's biggest critics. Now Charter is saying it won't do what Comcast did. Although Charter doesn't currently charge companies fees for interconnection, the key here is that Charter is promising not to do so going forward. If the overall merger is approved, Charter says, it'll abide by the condition until the end of 2018.