Why Sprint Buying a Chunk of Tidal Scares Net Neutrality Advocates

It was just a few days ago that Sprint announced it had acquired a 33 percent stake in Jay-Z's streaming music service, Tidal. According to Billboard, the deal was worth approximately $200 million, almost four times what Jay-Z paid for the service in 2015. Why would Sprint pay so much to get a piece of the company?

Some speculate it's the original content. However, it's also possible that this is Sprint's chance to offer customers something else: free data for using content it owns, a process known as "zero-rating". It's a strategy AT&T is using with DirecTV NOW, its streaming television service, and it's a strategy that's raising concerns in respect to net neutrality. "There's a lot of evidence from other examples of how zero-rating really does change consumer preferences and behavior," said Ryan Clough, General Counsel at Public Knowledge. "That's precisely why there's so much concern here."