Verizon takes the Netflix bait

[Commentary] The war of words that erupted between Netflix and Verizon over who was responsible for low quality of service some Netflix subscribers were purportedly experiencing on Verizon FiOS escalated sharply when the telecommunications company sent Netflix a letter threatening legal action if the video company doesn’t cut out the trash-talking.

The likelihood that Verizon would actually follow through on its threat of legal action, in truth, is not very high. The discovery process involved in any sort of litigation would inevitably turn up a lot of laundry that Verizon would not want publicly aired concerning its dealings with various peering partners. Netflix, moreover, would likely welcome the lawsuit. It would give the video provider an opening to counter-sue and possibly give it leverage to renegotiate the terms of the interconnection deal the two companies recently signed on more favorable terms as part of any settlement agreement.

[Sweeting is Principal, Concurrent Media Strategies]