COMCAST MAY TAKE OVER NBC

Buzz Flash - 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. . .

The process of the acquisition itself is somewhat complicated, and could take up to a year to complete. . .

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. . .

Comcast lists nine channels that it owns as well as one coalition of channels (Comcast Sports Group), bringing you everything from E! to PBS on demand. In addition to phone, Internet and cable, Comcast is diving into the multi-platform market. Possible programming changes at your favorite network aside; this is bad news for media consolidation.

Josh Silver, executive director of Free Press, a nonprofit organization working for media reform, likens the problem to what occurred with excessive consolidation in the financial industry that led to the economic crisis:

"This train wreck of a deal will hurt all over. It will mean increased costs for cable television service; currently free online NBC content locked behind a pay wall; less opportunity for the distribution of independent media; even fewer choices and less programming diversity. On average, nearly one quarter of all channels offered to cable subscribers will be owned by the bloated Comcast.". . .

Comcast consistently rates lowest in terms of customer service, when compared to both national companies and cable companies alike. But what's most reprehensible is their distaste for media independence and competition. Comcast's opposition to the FCC's suggestion of pursuing stronger net neutrality regulations is a prime example of this attitude. . .

Unfortunately, there's every indication that Comcast might start doing exactly that. Perhaps their opposition comes from the fact that Comcast was the very first U.S. Internet provider to be found guilty of violating existing net neutrality laws. Comcast was blocking and/or slowing access to a peer-to-peer software sharing site call BitTorrent, which happened to compete with Comcast's own video service. . .