According to the New York Times, Comcast is set to own NBC Universal and all channels that are part of it as early as next week.This could change the entire television landscape and pretty much give us less of a selection in terms of entertainment. The rumor is that Comcast is going to keep the cable channels, then sell the NBC network. News Corporation expressed interest in the property, but the Comcast talks progressed along far enough to eliminate other potential buyers. It could be argued that having MSNBC partially owned by the same owners of Fox News is a bit of a conflict of interest.
Who would step forward to buy NBC network? The ratings haven't been great and they did do that silly thing with Jay Leno and their 10 p.m. slot. NBC is too much of a name brand to let fall by the wayside. Who do you think should step up and buy the network?















Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-03-2009 @ 9:23AM
Jimmy said...
> It could be argued that having MSNBC partially owned by the same owners of Fox News is a bit of a conflict of interest.
Why?
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11-04-2009 @ 3:45AM
sensemann said...
Well, i hope they kick everyone out who was involved in the decisions for the program schedule the past, let's say 2-3 yeras - EVERYONE OUT! OUT! Latest stupidity in a series of hundreds was canceling "trauma", a show that was on the way to be a great symbiose of 3rd watch and e.r.. Instead they give "Mercy", a nurse-ripoff of Grey, a full season order. It was not on the right day and not in the right timespot. But they made that mistake at least a dozen times the past 3 years. GET LOST NBC...for me, they're done, a few good comedy's will not change that.
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11-03-2009 @ 9:29AM
Kevin said...
Why can't Comcast just but the Cable Channels then? I would hate to see NBC as a whole mismanaged and have budget cuts so that Comcast to flip it. I like that GE has let NBC do its thing and not interfered. Sad to say also I think Comcast will ruin USA Network like they did G4. Which is a shame because I really like USA's original programming.
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11-03-2009 @ 9:41AM
Morgan said...
I want to know what this means for DirecTV customers. E! and G4 are in HD on their cable network but not DirecTV. Will they take other channels away from Directv?
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11-03-2009 @ 9:56AM
Raked said...
What would this actually DO for NBC? Would a casual viewer see any real changes?
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11-03-2009 @ 10:03AM
Jimmy said...
By law, one company cannot own both broadcast stations and TV stations. The FCC better force NBC to find another buyer for the network before Comcast takes over.
Its a shame that the FCC has allowed broadcast television to become an unprofitable business. License fees are so high that typically the only owners of stations must own many others.
Stations around the country have CANCELLED their newscasts because infomercials and double runs of syndicated shows bring them in more money.
And then, there is the digital conversion. Yeah, HDTV is nice, whether it is broadcast or cable, but the government forced broadcasters to pay for the new equipment themselves, adding tp the unnecesarily high bills, and making it even more difficult to own a station.
Now, on a business sense, this is an amazing deal for Comcast, GE and Vivendi. But on an ethical sense, it clearly isn't.
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11-03-2009 @ 10:07AM
Jimmy said...
Broadcast stations and cable systems...
11-03-2009 @ 10:27AM
Jimmy said...
> Stations around the country have CANCELLED their newscasts because infomercials and double runs of syndicated shows bring them in more money.
As well they should! Most local TV newscasts are 50 percent weather, 25 percent nationally syndicated B.S. and 25 percent disposable crime reporting.
Print and online are still the best sources of local news.
11-03-2009 @ 10:15AM
Gordy said...
NBC's biggest problem is GE. Anyone else--without the interests that GE has--will let the network do what it does best.
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11-03-2009 @ 12:27PM
Adrian said...
My biggest question with this entire event: How will it affect 30 Rock? I bet they can make some great storylines out of it, though they will need to change Jack's profession since he works for GE.
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11-03-2009 @ 12:26PM
Scott said...
Why doesn't Jay Leno sell his airplane hangar of expensive cars and motorcycles and just buy NBC? Feels like he's running things there anyway.
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11-03-2009 @ 1:15PM
tingrin87 said...
to be fair, i watch more of the SyFy and USA shows than i do NBC shows.
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11-03-2009 @ 2:39PM
smeil said...
I didn't know NBC was still broadcasting. I haven't watched them in years since ER went downhill after Season 11
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11-03-2009 @ 2:52PM
jasahl said...
I hope this doesn't kill Hulu or NBC/Universal content from Amazon VoD.
Comcast isn't going to want their subscribers to have the option of purchasing content elsewhere.
Truth be told, I'm more concerned about Amazon VoD since I've actually paid for that content.
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11-03-2009 @ 3:29PM
Drex said...
Comcast is just trying to get a part of the online game in Hulu IMO.. I hate Comcast, but own shares in GE so I'm torn on how to feel..
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11-03-2009 @ 5:36PM
Aaron Vasicek said...
What worries me is I have to have DirecTV because the cable companies like Comcast & Cox won't come out to rural areas. Comcast owns Versus network and demanded so much money for it DirecTV refuses to carry that channel. Will Comcast do the same for channels I actually watch like USA and SyFy?
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11-03-2009 @ 6:20PM
BDUB said...
Hey TVSquad Guys/Girls-
What do you think will happen to Friday Night Lights and their deal with DirectTV for a fifth season of my favorite show? I'm worried that Comcast may drop it because of its involvement with DTV. But I don't know too much about how this stuff works. I think some shows like My Name is Earl were made by Fox but aired on NBC so maybe it's not as big a deal as I first thought.
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11-04-2009 @ 1:12AM
nick said...
The best parts of NBC/Universal are the cable channels, the Universal brand (but not the theme parks), and Hulu. If you uncouple NBC, and sell it alone along with the NBC news organization (such as including MSNBC), it seems rather unattractive. I'm not even sure what suitors would be interested a single network that is shadow of it's former self. NBC is going to be a major project to turn around. And it's going to require somebody with deep pockets and time.
It concerns me the largest cable operator is acquiring some of these properties. I figure consoliation in the industry is inevitable, but long term this may not be ideal for consumers. If they were to leverage some of these properties exclusively for their own customers, then well, you fill in the blanks.
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