[mythtv-users] Comcast Equipment Update

[Gary Buhrmaster]

On Fri, Feb 3, 2017 at 5:06 PM, Tom Bongiorno <tbjr at bongohut.com> wrote:
...
> Are you saying that my "contract" with Comcast says something about me
> paying for a license to view the content?

With restrictions.  About this time every year there
is another story in some paper about some charity
being told no, they cannot just put up a big screen
at the end of the large room and show The Big Game
and charge a fee (although because of a special
dispensation/exception rider approved by the
commissioner (subject to arbitrary modification),
churches can do so under some limited cases,
as long as no real money is involved).  Because
that is considered a public viewing.  Public viewing
requests a different license (with, surprise, surprise)
different fees.

> I hope that dealing with Comcast would never require one.

It is a contract.  And while such minor contracts tend
not involve counsel review on your part, you can be
assured that Comcast had an extensive review on their
part.  Advantage, Comcast.

It should be noted that Comcast has publicly stated
(for other purposes) that there are different contracts
from their content providers for linear programming
as there are for streaming/on-demand (which was
used as the explanation as to why some content
is not available on their tablet app at all, and some is
restricted to "the household", and some is not, and
some other variants).  Not surprisingly, Comcast does
not share the particulars of any of their contracts, so
we have few clues as to the details, and trying to draw
conclusions as to what the contracts might state can
only be reverse engineered after Comcast makes
some explicit statement such as this.  Suspicions and
hopes and desires are not relevant.