Comcast / NBC Merger Receives Conditional FCC Approval

Published by: Frank Galvano on 23rd Dec 2010 | View all blogs by Frank Galvano

Comcast / NBC Merger Receives Conditional FCC Approval

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski has given his approval of a proposed acquisition of NBC Universal by Comcast Corp, though the approval comes with several key conditions.

Genachowski's approval marks a major step forward for the deal, which was originally announced over a year ago and has been heavily scrutinized since by federal officials, consumer groups, and competitors within the media industry.

Genachowski said the deal would meet so-called public interest standards but stipulated that several conditions would have to be addressed moving forward. Among the FCC's concerns, according to sources familiar with the matter, are online video, program access, and program carriage. The details of how the proposal would deal with these concerns have not been disclosed.

The FCC's other members can propose changes to the deal before it is put to a vote, and then it must be approved by the Justice Department before it can move forward. The FCC says there has been full cooperation in the matter between the two agencies.

Genachowski's approval suggests that the deal could potentially close in January, later than Comcast had hoped for. In the deal, Comcast, the nation's largest provider of cable television service, would purchase a 51 percent stake in NBC Universal from General Electric Company. The deal would create a $30 billion business that would include broadcast and cable networks, movie studios and theme parks.

A major area of concern for FCC officials is online video, where they want to be sure that Comcast would not stifle the emerging market by assuming partial control of Hulu, a joint venture of NBC Universal, News Corp., and Walt Disney. The issue is whether Comcast, with its control of a major broadband delivery system, could put Hulu competitors like Netflix at a disadvantage by slowing down the delivery of its streaming movies and TV shows.

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