Reality tv doesn't get any more painful than this. The cable-television companies have smacked around their telecom rivals in broadband over the past few years, grabbing most of the fast-growing market. Even worse, the cable players have started to swipe customers in the traditional voice market in recent months. "Cable companies have emerged as telecom's fastest-growing threat," says Brian Adamik, chief executive officer of researcher the Yankee Group. Now, Verizon Communications Inc. is striking back. BusinessWeek has learned that the nation's largest telecom provider is preparing to seek cable-TV franchises in parts of Texas and eight other states so that it can offer video in head-to-head competition with cable companies. The service would provide a powerful new source of competition in the pay-TV market, where most consumers have a choice of one local cable-TV company and two satellite operators.
展开▼
