Comcast-NBC Merger Gets FCC Approval
Bloomberg reports:
Comcast Corp.’s proposed merger with NBC Universal won approval from U.S. regulators, clearing the way for the largest U.S. cable company to combine with a national broadcaster.
The Federal Communications Commission approved the transaction on a 4-1 vote, and the Justice Department followed with its acceptance of the deal, according to e-mailed statements from the agencies today.
Comcast is to acquire 51 percent of a joint venture that includes NBC Universal and parts of Comcast by contributing $13.8 billion in cash and assets.
The deal for the General Electric Co. unit would give Comcast the NBC television network, broadcast stations, cable channels such as MSNBC and USA Network, a library of more than 4,000 movies, and part ownership of the Hulu online video service.
The FCC required Comcast to agree to “strong and fair merger conditions,” the agency’s chairman, Julius Genachowski, said in an e-mailed statement. The conditions aim to protect the emerging online-video market and increase adoption of high-speed Internet access among underserved communities, he said.
Critics had urged regulators to keep Comcast from unfairly withholding NBC shows from the expanding market for online video, and to ensure Comcast’s 17 million high-speed Internet customers have access to Web content not controlled by the company. Philadelphia-based Comcast has 23 million video subscribers.
Comcast has agreed to allow online video distributors to seek arbitration in the case of a dispute and give up its management of Hulu, according to a statement from the Justice Department.
Comcast also is banned from interfering with the transmission of online video to Comcast customers or pressuring programmers and distributors into agreements that limit access to Internet content, the Justice Department said.
