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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[Updated] Comcast Roundup: as much as 80 percent of broadband misadvertised, blog sponsorships and More

Every Thursday morning, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup. Get an e-mail subscription to our Comcast news updates.

Updated 10/1/09 @ 11:36 a.m. Added Item

• As much of eighty percent of actual broadband speeds are slower than advertised, according to the Washington Post.While the news — which came out of far-reaching industry research from the FCC — doesn’t cite Comcast specifically, it’s hard to think of the company’s recent disputes with the FCC over limiting broadband capacity, isn’t it?

• The Inquirer’s Joey DiStefano asks whether Comcast CEO Brian Roberts is a “highest paid worst performer,” among some other regional chief executives who don’t appear to be bringing success with their paychecks.
• Will Bunch at the Daily News reports on Hollywood-based rumors that Comcast is in serious talks to purchase NBC Universal, which, after Bunch gives an inexplicable SNL-toned lede, is being flatly denied by the Center City MSO. It’s tough not to mention the chance to bolster the city’s media world, but let us never forget Comcast’s abortive attempt to buy Disney in 2004. Big ticket take overs like this are awfully rare and rumors are dime a dozen, so take this in stride.

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