Comcast Roundup: Comcast knew about Leno’s ratings, NBC deal a “probably” and More

Every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup. Get an e-mail subscription for our Comcast news updates.

DEFINITE READS

• The Philadelphia Business Journal reports that Comcast-Spectacor will buy ticketing company Paciolan, which Ticketmaster has to spin off to win approval from the U.S. Justice Department for its merger with Live Nation.
• Reuters reports that Sen. John Kerry, chairman of the U.S. Senate’s communications and technology subcommittee, said oversight of the Comcast-NBC deal can “probably” be resolved.
• Bloomberg reports that NBC had warned Comcast in November that Jay Leno’s ratings were hurting local stations, a major factor in the controversy surrounding moving Leno and releasing Conan O’Brien. H/T Philly Tech News

After the jump, what Comcast would trade for SportsNet, notes from the State of the Net speech and More.

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Comcast Roundup: Jeff Zucker speaks, $1 million for Haiti relief and More

Every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup. Get an e-mail subscription for our Comcast news updates.

DEFINITE READS

• The Wall Street Journal’s Deal Journal blog shares portions of a transcript of NBC head Jeff Zucker talking to Charlie Rose about, among other things, the Comcast deal. H/T Philly Tech News
• BusinessWeek has a piece calling the “Conan and Leno saga” NBC chief Jeff Zucker’s “eventual undoing, even if it takes Comcast to come in and pull the plug.
• The Philadelphia Business Journal reports that Comcast has announced it will send $1 million in cash and in-kind support for disaster relief efforts in Haiti.

After the jump, Fancast Xfinity expanded again, why Comcast has to write down their promises now and a dozen more stories.

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Comcast Roundup: Lobbying power, Fancast Xfinity goes wild and More

Every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup. Get an e-mail subscription for our Comcast news updates.

DEFINITE READS

• Knowledge @ Wharton investigates the ‘marriage of cable and content,’ with the Comcast-NBC merger.
• The New York Times reports that Comcast has unveiled its Fancast Xfinity TV for subscribers, its take on TV Everywhere. Wall Street Journal gives its take here.
• Politico reports on Comcast’s sophisticated lobbying arm that helped the merger happen.

After the jump, could the NBC merger mean more office space, why Comcast is so un-Philadelphian and eight more stories you need to see.

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Comcast Roundup: NBC Universal deal announced earlier this morning and More

Every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup. Get an e-mail subscription for our Comcast news updates.

• THE LEDE: As we reported this morning, Comcast announced it has purchased a 51 percent majority stake in NBC Universal from its current parent General Electric for $30 billion. Federal regulatory approval, which could take up to a year, remains, multiple reports say.
• The New York Times reported over the weekend that General Electric bought out French company Vivendi’s 20 percent stake in NBC for $5.8 billion, clearing the way for its deal with Comcast and fueling expectations for the move to become final.
• The Inquirer’s Mike Armstrong gives “props” — yes, props — to Comcast for aiming high. Most Philadelphia-based companies take big buy outs, Armstrong writes, but Comcast has been the only in a generation or more that has sought to and succeeded in dominating its industry. Think notorious Philly.com commenters responded?
• The New York Times digs deeper into how Comcast’s NBC acquisition will almost surely precipitate a move to bolster its sports programming to challenge ESPN. The USA Today reports that Comcast ought not try to compete with ESPN but instead find a new niche to blossom a newly branded sports channel.

After the jump, more fallout and a dozen other Comcast news pieces you need to know about.

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Comcast purchases majority stake in NBC Universal, awaiting regulatory approval

One of the world’s largest corporations this morning officially announced its intentions to sell one of the most storied media brands to the country’s biggest cable-TV and broadband-Internet company.

General Electric’s $30 billion sale of a 51 percent majority stake in NBC Universal to Center City-based Comcast comes after months of highly-publicized talks. The NBC acquisition will make Comcast the largest media company in the country, with $51 billion in annual revenue and more than $100 billion in assets, as the Inquirer reports, topping Walt Disney Co.

“This deal is a perfect fit for Comcast and will allow us to become a leader in the development and distribution of multiplatform “anytime, anywhere” media that American consumers are demanding,” Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said in a statement this morning.

Today’s announcement, which was widely expected, doesn’t mean the deal is done.

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Comcast Roundup: Competing with ESPN, greatest Comcast photo ever and More

Every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup. Get an e-mail subscription for our Comcast news updates.

• Yo, Happy Thanksgiving. Comcast is celebrating, first by bringing the Yule log to OnDemand in HD, and in more ways below.

• Forbes reports that this Thanksgiving, employees of Comcast, General Electric, NBC and Vivendi should all pray that the deal to give Comcast a majority stake in NBC goes through. If the deal fails, Forbes suggests, all those involved will be hurt.
• New York Times Media Decoder blog reports that Upper Darby princess and now NBC star Tina Fey hosted an Ad Council event and liberally joked about the possible Comcast-NBC merger. “It leaves me wondering,” she reportedly said, “will I have to change the name of my show from ‘30 Rock’ to ‘Industrial Park Along the Schuylkill River’?”

After the jump, Chicago Tribune video on becoming a Comcast customer service agent and the photo we hope will someday be on the currency of the global nation state that Comcast creates after it outlasts Google and Facebook in a universal war of empires. We assume this will happen in 2012.

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Comcast Roundup: NBC deal facing long review, Comcast dabbles in Ticketmaster-Live Nation merger and More

Every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup. Get an e-mail subscription for our Comcast news updates.

• Reuters reports that Comcast’s deal to take from General Electric a majority stake in NBC Universal seems increasingly likely but that its acceptance will then be slowed by a lengthy review process, not only by the FCC but by congressional committees beginning the long haul to midterm elections.
• In an excellent piece of business journalism, the New York Times runs a top notch profile of Comcast CEO Brian Roberts and his path through content courting. Read this, my friends.
• Not to be outdone, the LA Times has its own piece of long-form Comcast business journalism, chronicling how the NBC Universal purchase would make it an elite “major global communications player.”
• Bloomberg News reports that Comcast is working with Ticketmaster and Live Nation on salvaging their mega merger that is now under U.S. antitrust scrutiny. Does that merger still sound crazy to you? Read this excellent Philadelphia Weekly cover story on it from the alt weekly’s music editor Brian McManus.

After the jump Verizon FiOS swiping Comcast customers in Chestnut Hill and video of a Comcast executive talking about TV Everywhere.

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Comcast Roundup: NBC deal could be announced next week, Bob Brady fights net neutrality and More

Every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup. Get an e-mail subscription for our Comcast news updates.

• The New York Times reports that Comcast could announce a deal to purchase NBC sometime next week. Still, Reuters had reported that Comcast and General Electric were “struggling” to finalize that deal, though it remained “likely.”
• Broadcasting Cable reports that Comcast might be planning to sell off the NBC Network upon purchasing NBC Universal, keeping other components, notably Universal Studios.
• paidContent reports that talks with Vivendi, the French company with some ownership of NBC, are ongoing. But paidContent also reports that former NBC Universal CEO Bob Wright expects Vivendi to negotiate the deal. That blog additionally reports that Comcast executives said repeatedly during their third-quarter earnings call that they would be “disciplined” with any acquisition.

After the jump, Congressman Bob Brady backs a Comcast cause, the company’s third-quarter earnings call and a dozen other Comcast stories worth noting.

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Comcast Roundup: Calling broadband stimulus packages ineligible, Yellow Pages on TV and More

Every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup. Get an e-mail subscription for our Comcast news updates.

The Inqy’s DiStefano reports that Comcast submitted data yesterday to the federal government suggesting some proposals for broadband stimulus would duplicate its services and effectively subsidize competitors. The Daily Herald adds that the company says that may make those proposals ineligible. Relatedly, a series of Philadelphia proposals for that pot of money came up short.

New York Times media columnist David Carr suggests Comcast’s “likely” bid to buy a majority stake in NBC Universal is foolhardy. If it were to get through, the Inquirer’s Joe DiStefano writes on the undercurrent conversation about whether the federal government would even allow the deal to happen.

After the jump, the latest in net neutrality, video online news and ten other Comcast links to see, including video of Brian Roberts at the Web 2.0 summit.

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Comcast Roundup: Brian Roberts at Web 2.0 Summit, latest on NBC deal and More

The Phillies are returning to the World Series, and, amid all the wild celebration, Thursday morning’s Comcast Roundup still must be done. Get an e-mail subscription for our Comcast news updates.

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts made a big splash with his presence at San Francisco’s Web 2.0 Summit this week.

• CNET reports that his opening talk at the summit focused on casting Comcast in the same entrepreneurial spirit for which the Bay Area is known.
• Tech Crunch reports that Roberts said the company’s use of Twitter and other social media has changed their entire culture.
• Silicon Alley Insider reports that Roberts characterized net neutrality as “a solution seeking a problem.”

After the jump, continued coverage of a possible purchase of NBC, On Demand Online by year’s end more than a dozen other Comcast stories of note.

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