Skip to main content

Comcast jumps up in Netflix speed rankings after payola-style agreement

Netflix Video Quality
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The numbers are in, and Comcast is movin’ on up in the Netflix speed rankings, jumping up six slots over the previous month to sit as the number five major service provider in Netflix’s Monthly ISP Speed Index for March.

The faster speeds come on the heels of a reluctant and controversial deal in February, in which Netflix agreed to pay Comcast an undisclosed fee for more direct interconnection to its pipelines. Just five days after Netflix announced its paid partnership with Comcast, our Netflix streaming quality jumped exponentially. But while the improvement was clear to us, it was hard to quantify. Plus, the improvement could well have been regional. Now there’s data showing precisely how much Comcast’s agreement paid off.

Many of the top ISPs on the March Speed Index list, including Cablevision and Suddenlink, are users of Netflix’s Open Connect system, which is an in-house solution that allows for faster streaming speeds through direct connection to Netflix servers. But Comcast and several other big ISPs elected to hold out to negotiate for payment instead of using Netflix’s free service.

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has since denounced such pay-to-play deals in a plea for Net neutrality, which guarantees fair play for all online services. Still, after the Comcast deal, rumors of similar negotiations in the works were reported between Netflix and other Open Connect holdouts like AT&T, and Verizon. Verizon has been accused of playing particularly dirty lately, with rumors that the company was purposefully throttling Netflix streams immediately after the company won a courtroom victory that handicapped the FCC’s ability to enforce Net neutrality. Verizon vehemently denies such claims.

There was no sign of unrest between the Open Source holdouts and Netflix in the company’s latest blog about improved streaming speeds, however. “This month’s rankings are a great illustration of how performance can improve when ISPs work to connect directly to Netflix,” reads the blog. “In the US, the average speed on the Comcast network for Netflix streams is up 65 percent from 1.15Mbps in January to 2.5Mbps in March.”

For reference, the five major ISPs with the fastest Netflix streaming in March were: Cablevision (2.98 Mbps), Cox (2.84Mbps), Suddenlink (2.67Mbps), Charter (2.61Mbps) and Comcast at 2.5Mbps. As MultiChannel News reports, not on this list, but aggregated in Netflix’s expanded report, are speedsters like Google Fiber and Midcontinent Communications, which role in at 3.5Mbps, and 3.02Mbps respectively. Of course, access to those smaller ISPs is still highly limited.

At the bottom of the barrel were AT&T and Verizon, which showed dismal speeds of 1.17Mbps, and 1Mbps respectively. As Netflix has yet to broker deals with either company in the vein of its recent Comcast agreement, one has to wonder if there is more to the story than basic network connection issues there. Either way, it appears for now that the companies may get their own form of payola to help expedite streaming to a massive number of Netflix subscribers.

Meanwhile, Comcast seems to be getting its way, jumping to the top five of the big ISPs after wheeling and dealing for a payout. As the company continues to push for its multi-billion dollar merger with Time Warner Cable, it now has one more feather in its cap to show consumers that, as Executive VP David Cohen put it to congress last week, “the proposed transaction to combine Time Warner Cable with Comcast will benefit millions of Americans.”

While there are a mountain of reasons for which many would argue that statement is inaccurate, including concerns over the stifling of competition, innovation, and fair play for Internet services at large, when it comes to Netflix streaming for Time Warner customers, Cohen may just have a point. Then again, the method by which Comcast achieved its higher streaming speeds – a hold out for cash by a company that was simply too big for Netflix to deny – seems to be as good an argument as any against Comcast getting any bigger than it already is.

Editors' Recommendations

Ryan Waniata
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Ryan Waniata is a multi-year veteran of the digital media industry, a lover of all things tech, audio, and TV, and a…
This JBL waterproof Bluetooth speaker is 43% off right now
JBL Xtreme 2 on a beach.

Bring the party with you wherever you go with a portable Bluetooth speaker like the JBL Xtreme 2, which is currently on sale from Best Buy at 43% off. From its original price of $350, it's down to a more affordable $200 for savings of $150. We're not sure how much time is remaining for you to take advantage of this offer though, so if you're interested, you're going to have to proceed with the transaction as soon as possible. The bargain may be gone by tomorrow, so complete the purchase today if you can.

Why you should buy the JBL Xtreme 2 Bluetooth speaker
JBL is one of the best speaker brands with portable audio as its calling card, so it's not a surprise that there are multiple JBL devices in our roundup of the best Bluetooth speakers. The JBL Xtreme 2 isn't the latest version in its line -- the JBL Xtreme 4 has already been released -- but it's still a fantastic Bluetooth speaker by today's standards with powerful audio using your mobile device as the source. If you prefer a wired connection over Bluetooth, the JBL Xtreme 2 also offers auxiliary audio input.

Read more
Apple’s AirPods Pro earbuds are back at their cheapest-ever price
Apple AirPods Pro 2 inside their charging case, near iPhone 14.

The second-generation Apple AirPods Pro with USB-C are back down to their cheapest-ever price of $189 on Amazon, for savings of $60 on their sticker price of $249. If you don't own the wireless earbuds yet, or if you're thinking about upgrading from an older model, here's another chance at this discount. However, like with most AirPods deals, we don't think it will last long, so if you want to take advantage of the bargain, you're going to have to proceed with the purchase right away.

Why you should buy the Apple AirPods Pro 2 with USB-C
The Apple AirPods Pro 2 with USB-C are featured in our list of the best wireless earbuds as the top choice for Apple fans, partly because of how easy it is to pair them with an iPhone or iPad. Just open their charging case, hold it close to your device, and you're done after a few taps. The Apple AirPods Pro 2 also offer solid audio quality with the capability for wireless lossless audio and Apple's immersive Spatial Audio, so you'll enjoy your favorite music even more.

Read more
Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones are back at their Black Friday price
Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones seen in silver.

Here's a highly recommended offer from Crutchfield if you're on the lookout for headphone deals -- the Sony WH-1000XM5 for $328, which is what they were going for during last year's Black Friday. If you weren't able to buy them for this cheap for any reason, here's another chance at the $70 discount on their original price of $398. We're not sure how long stocks will last though, so if you want to buy these wireless headphones for a more affordable price, you're going to have to add them to your cart and check out as soon as possible.

Why you should buy the Sony WH-1000XM5 wireless headphones
There are multiple reasons why the Sony WH-1000XM5 reign supreme in our roundup of the best headphones, but it all begins with its impressive active noise cancellation that allows them to stand out among other wireless headphones. They're very comfortable to wear, so you'll be able to maximize their long battery life of up to 30 hours on a single charge with ANC activated and up to 40 hours without it, and they'll allow you to call up Amazon's Alexa or Google Assistant through voice commands.

Read more