Nobody knows what Netflix is actually paying Comcast. That’s a problem.

[Commentary] Will Netflix pass the cost of its new Comcast agreement onto its own customers? If so, would that cost be tripled or quadrupled if Netflix then signs separate deals with other Internet providers, such as Verizon? It's hard to say. Some, like Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter, predict that Netflix will raise its prices in order to cover the cost. Others, like telecom analyst Jeff Kagan, say that dealing directly with Comcast won't incur any new costs for Netflix and could actually be cheaper for the company because it will no longer rely on third-party middlemen to route videos to Comcast subscribers. Neither Netflix nor Comcast is talking specifics about the deal, but it has spawned a great deal of speculation on the issue.

The central problem here is a lack of information. We don't know how Comcast's deal with Netflix is structured and how much money is changing hands. That makes it hard to judge whether critics are right when they claim Comcast is engaging in anticompetitive business practices. And it makes it hard to know whether consumers will wind up paying more as a result of the deal. We could fix this by having the government require Comcast to be more forthcoming about its Netflix relationship.