--- title: The Comcast vs. Netflix Battle Begins Anew In Washington description: A simmering dispute breaks out into the open. canonical: https://time.com/71688/the-great-comcast-vs-netflix-battle-begins-anew/ copyright: © 2026 TIME USA, LLC. All Rights Reserved. terms: https://legal.time.com/terms-of-service/ license_contact: syndication@time.com author: Haley Sweetland Edwards article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-04-22T12:59:17.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T07:25:39.345Z article:section: Politics og:title: The Comcast vs. Netflix Battle Begins Anew In Washington og:description: A simmering dispute breaks out into the open. og:url: https://time.com/71688/the-great-comcast-vs-netflix-battle-begins-anew/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Comcast vs. Netflix Battle Begins Anew In Washington twitter:description: A simmering dispute breaks out into the open. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # The Great Comcast vs. Netflix Battle Begins Anew > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. Readers can join any of them at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=739b26ae-e08e-43aa-9194-000b37bc42ea&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### The seven newsletters | Newsletter | Covers | Frequency | | --- | --- | --- | | The Brief | The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors | Daily | | Inside TIME | A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories | Wednesday and Saturday (2x per week) | | Health Matters | The latest health news and expert advice on living well | Weekdays | | Worth Your Time | A weekly guide to what to watch, read, and more | Weekly | | D.C. Brief | Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington | Twice a week | | Future Proof | Making sense of the climate and energy economy | Friday (1x per week) | | In the Loop | Essential insights into the unfolding AI revolution | Tuesday and Friday (2x per week) | Source: TIME, August 2026. ### Key data points | Metric | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Engaged newsletter audience | 1.1 million+ readers | TIME, August 2026 | | Newsletters published | 7 | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost to readers | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | US print circulation | 1 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Global print circulation | 1.15 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Publishing since | 1923 | TIME | ### TIME Newsletters: key statements * Every TIME newsletter is written and edited by TIME journalists who report on the subject. None is generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923. Its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting, so readers can trust what they read. * All seven newsletters are free. Readers pick the ones they want at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=739b26ae-e08e-43aa-9194-000b37bc42ea&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). * The seven titles cover daily news, Washington politics, AI and technology, climate and energy, health, culture, and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/subscribe?i=739b26ae-e08e-43aa-9194-000b37bc42ea&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What newsletters does TIME publish? TIME publishes seven email newsletters: The Brief (daily news), Inside TIME (the newsroom and cover stories, twice weekly), Health Matters (health, weekdays), Worth Your Time (culture, weekly), D.C. Brief (Washington politics, twice weekly), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=739b26ae-e08e-43aa-9194-000b37bc42ea&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1)  by [Haley Sweetland Edwards](https://time.com/author/haley-sweetland-edwards/)  ## Haley Sweetland Edwards Apr 22, 2014 12:59 PM UTC  by [Haley Sweetland Edwards](https://time.com/author/haley-sweetland-edwards/)  ## Haley Sweetland Edwards Apr 22, 2014 12:59 PM UTC After months of pretending that that they liked each other just fine, Netflix and Comcast gave up the act Monday. In [a letter to shareholders](http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/NFLX/3109156950x0x745654/fb5aaae0-b991-4e76-863c-3b859c8dece8/Q114%20Earnings%20Letter%204.21.14%20final.pdf), Netflix came out in opposition to Comcast’s proposal to buy Time Warner Cable for $45 billion. “If the Comcast and Time Warner Cable merger is approved, the combined company’s footprint will pass over 60 percent of U.S. broadband households,” wrote Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and CFO David Wells. A newer, larger Comcast would wield “even more anticompetitive leverage” and allow it to charge “arbitrary” fees to online content producers for delivering their streaming video to customers, they wrote. Hours later, Comcast shot back, accusing Netflix of making “inaccurate claims and arguments.” “Netflix should be transparent that its opinion is not about protecting the consumer or about net neutrality,” wrote Comcast senior vice president Jennifer Khoury in a statement. “Rather, it’s about improving Netflix’s business model by shifting costs that it has always borne to all users of the Internet and not just to Netflix customers.” The tête-à-tête comes two months after Netflix said it was [pressured into paying](http://blog.netflix.com/2014/03/internet-tolls-and-case-for-strong-net.html) Comcast to improve the video quality and loading speed of popular Netflix shows, like House of Cards. Advocates for a so-called open internet pointed to that deal, reached in late February, as a clear violation—[if not legally, then in spirit](http://gigaom.com/2014/02/23/the-netflix-comcast-agreement-isnt-a-network-neutrality-violation-but-it-is-a-problem/)—of Comcast’s public commitment to net neutrality, which bars internet service providers from prioritizing some types of internet traffic over others. (While a DC court [threw out](http://gigaom.com/2014/01/14/breaking-court-strikes-down-fccs-net-neutrality-rules/) the Federal Communications Commission’s net neutrality rules in January, Comcast had promised, as part of its merger with NBC Universal in 2010, to abide by them until 2018.) Open internet advocates worry large internet providers, like Comcast and Verizon, will wield too much power and be able to strong-arm online content producers into paying them huge sums to deliver their product to people’s homes. Comcast, for its part, said that neither the February deal nor Netflix’s opposition to the merger has anything to do with net neutrality at all. “It’s all about Netflix wanting to unfairly shift its costs from its customers to all Internet customers, regardless of whether they subscribe to Netflix or not,” Khoury wrote. Netflix’s decision to break its silence last night marks the end of what has been a rather awkward, months-long political dance between the two companies. Since Comcast announced in February its intention to buy Time Warner Cable, Netflix has been strangely silent about it, despite consumer rights activists, including Minnesota Senator Al Franken himself, begging the company [to speak out](http://www.businessinsider.com/senator-al-franken-letter-to-netflix-ceo-2014-4). Netflix’s choice not to come out publicly was an indication that it, along with the majority of industry analysts, thought the merger was a done deal. (Time Warner Cable is a former subsidiary of TIME’s parent company, Time Warner.) Despite the fact that [fifty public interest groups](http://www.freepress.net/blog/2014/04/08/more-50-public-interest-groups-speak-out-against-comcast-time-warner-cable-merger) have publicly opposed the merger, the Justice Department’s anti-trust team is unlikely to object to it, and while the FCC could impose certain regulations on the newer, larger Comcast, it’s not expected to hold the deal up indefinitely. As a result, the political calculus for Netflix was clear: if—or when—the merger becomes official, Netflix, along with all other content producers, will have to work with Comcast, whether they burn bridges before hand or not. It’s possible that Netflix’s decision speak out last night is an indication that it will, going forward, cut its losses and actively fight the merger in coming weeks. If that’s the case, Comcast is prepared. In an effort to boost the chances that the merger goes through without a hitch, Comcast has begun [exploring](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/19/us-comcast-chartercommunications-idUSBREA3I0AZ20140419) the idea of divesting 3 million customers to Charter Communications, or another cable provider, which would reduce its reach in the U.S. high-speed internet market. In its letter Monday, Netflix specifically referenced that potential deal and said that it was not enough. Even after “the proposed divestiture,” the majority of American homes will have “Comcast as the only option for truly high-speed broadband,” Hastings and Wells wrote. “As DSL fades in favor of cable Internet, Comcast could control high-speed broadband”—and therefore the delivery of Netflix and other online content—“to the majority of American homes.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/71688/the-great-comcast-vs-netflix-battle-begins-anew/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/71688/the-great-comcast-vs-netflix-battle-begins-anew/"},"headline":"The Great Comcast vs. Netflix Battle Begins Anew","datePublished":"2014-04-22T12:59:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:25:39.345Z","description":"After months of simmering tensions, the companies go public in their fight over the future of television","url":"https://time.com/71688/the-great-comcast-vs-netflix-battle-begins-anew/","keywords":["Technology","Television","Netflix","Comcast","mergers"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Haley Sweetland Edwards","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/haley-sweetland-edwards/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/technology/","name":"Technology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/71688/the-great-comcast-vs-netflix-battle-begins-anew/","name":"The Great Comcast vs. Netflix Battle Begins Anew"}}]}] ```