>Comcast’s FAQ strongly implies that Microsoft is compensating it in some fashion for the new service; the document states several times that the Xfinity app is only available to those with an Xbox Live Gold subscription
>For companies like Comcast, which has railed against the concept of being a dumb pipe, Microsoft’s decision to pay it for free access for Xbox Gold users is a major coup.
Why does the article take as a given that Microsoft is paying Comcast? What if the arrangement is that MS gets more value added to XBox Live Gold subscriptions and Comcast gets more value added to it's TV service? Now this may not be the case, but doesn't seem any less likely than the article's assertions given what we know.
>For companies like Comcast, which has railed against the concept of being a dumb pipe, Microsoft’s decision to pay it for free access for Xbox Gold users is a major coup.
Why does the article take as a given that Microsoft is paying Comcast? What if the arrangement is that MS gets more value added to XBox Live Gold subscriptions and Comcast gets more value added to it's TV service? Now this may not be the case, but doesn't seem any less likely than the article's assertions given what we know.