Netflix: We Shouldn’t Have Had to Sign That Comcast Deal

Remember last month, when Netflix and Comcast signed a deal to guarantee fast delivery of the video service’s streams to the cable company’s customers? That’s exactly the kind of deal Netflix shouldn’t have to sign, says Netflix CEO Reed Hastings. That’s the gist of the argument Hastings makes in an essay he has posted on his company’s blog, titled “Internet Tolls And The Case For Strong Net Neutrality.” In the essay, which the company has also filed with the Federal Communications Commission as that agency prepares to create new net neutrality regulations, Hastings says that “interconnection” deals, like the one he signed last month, shouldn’t be necessary to ensure that his stuff — or anyone else’s — gets to broadband customers. Hastings’s essay also spells out the fact that his company is now paying Comcast directly to connect with its pipes — something people at both companies acknowledged privately but wouldn’t say out loud last month.