Msnbc News Junkies Beware: Comcast's Likely Acquisition Of Nbc May Threaten ...
BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
by Meg White
Business sections across the country are all abuzz this week over the expected announcement that Comcast Corp. will acquire a controlling share of NBC Universal. But should MSNBC viewers be particularly concerned about the nation's largest cable provider and second largest Internet service provider obtaining one fourth of the media content available to U.S. audiences?
The process of the acquisition itself is somewhat complicated, and could take up to a year to complete. First, Vivendi SA must sell its 20 percent of NBC Universal to General Electric Co., which already owns 80 percent. Then GE would sell 51 percent of the company to Comcast.
This Reuters piece suggests that GE might try to sell its interest in NBC entirely over the next few years, precisely because media is something of an awkward addition to a company profile which includes defense contracting and nuclear power:
In the case of GE, many of its shareholders have urged the conglomerate to offload NBC Universal, whose broadcast and cable networks, movie studio and theme parks are considered misfits among GE's mostly industrial operations.
Source: BuzzFlash
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