Diller: Cash Keeps Hollywood Quiet On Network Neutrality

IAC Chairman Barry Diller said Hollywood wasn't making much noise over the issue of network neutrality because they are getting paid.

At a Paley Center forum, Diller was asked how the Federal Communications Commission was doing on the issue and what the vested interests in the room, media and finance, should be told. Dillers's point was that even the FCC's rules adopted in December were a brokered solution between the net neutrality side and telcos. "I still think that what we need, is absolutely, particularly, in the chaos that is going to come, very clear rules that say there is no intermediator in terms of the data you are provided at whatever the charge rate is for the data you are provided, and the provider." Given so many creators in Hollywood with so many channels and voices, why isn't anyone screaming about the issue, asked moderator Jason Hirschhorn of Media reDEFined. "Because they are all getting paid. For whatever reason, people are too rich, too busy, too engaged. This has never been a town that has ever thought much about the day after tomorrow."

Diller said that Comcast was one company that was thinking about the day after tomorrow, which is why it was so strongly opposed to network neutrality. "What do they want. They would certainly like to charge the consumer for data, and they do, and their margins are quite large, but they would like to charge anyone else they can."