Thread: Government OK's Comcast purchase of NBC $13.8 BILLION

Government OK's Comcast purchase of NBC

Blokcbuster deal could transform entertainment industry

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department tells Comcast it can buy the majority stake in NBC Universal if it fulfils conditions intended to prevent it from stifling competitors.

Comcast is buying a 51 percent stake in NBC Universal from General Electric Co. for $13.8 billion in cash and assets.

The Federal Communications Commission voted 4-1 earlier Tuesday to approve the deal. Michael Copps, one of the commission's three Democrats and an opponent of media consolidation, voted against the deal.

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With the transaction certain to transform the entertainment industry landscape, regulators are attaching conditions to prevent Comcast from trampling competitors once it takes control of NBC's vast media empire.

(Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.)

Among other things, the FCC is requiring Comcast to make NBC programming available to competitors including rival cable companies, satellite operators and new Internet video services that could pose a threat to Comcast's core cable business. Regulators want to ensure that emerging online video platforms being developed by companies such as Netflix Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Apple Inc. can get the movies and shows they need to grow — and potentially offer a cheaper alternative to monthly cable subscriptions.

Philadelphia-based Comcast has about 23 million cable TV subscribers and nearly 17 million Internet subscribers. It also owns a handful of cable channels, including E! Entertainment and the Golf Channel, and has a controlling interest in the Philadelphia 76ers and Flyers sports teams. Comcast's SportsNet Philadelphia channel carries Flyers, Phillies and 76ers games.

Taking over NBC will transform the company into a media powerhouse. NBC Universal owns the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks; 26 local TV stations; popular cable channels including CNBC, Bravo and Oxygen; the Universal Pictures movie studio and theme parks; and a roughly 30 percent stake in Hulu.com, which distributes NBC and other broadcast programming online.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41138359/ns ... media_biz/

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

Government OK's Comcast purchase of NBC Among other things, the FCC is requiring Comcast to make NBC programming available to competitors including rival cable companies, satellite operators and new Internet video services that could pose a threat to Comcast's core cable business.

Any mention of requiring Comcast to actually provide reliable cable service?