USA: Comcast may swallow NBC Universal
U.S. authorities have conditionally approved a merger of media group NBC Universal with cable operator Comcast. The telecommunications regulator required the new company, led by Comcast, to "promote competition in the video market.
In addition, the joint venture must expand its regional news offering, develop more offerings for children and produce additional programs in Spanish, it said Tuesday (local time), according to SDA.
In addition, the new group was required to provide low-cost Internet access to people with low incomes and to provide high-speed network connections for schools, libraries and poorly served areas. The competition watchdog at the U.S. Department of Justice added that it must continue to be possible for Comcast's competitors to broadcast NBC Universal's programs.
Comcast and electronics giant General Electrics, which owns 80 percent of NBC Universal, announced the planned merger in December 2009. At the time, there was talk of a purchase price of 30 billion dollars. The new company could become the largest media group in the USA. In 2009, Comcast had revenues of about $32 billion, while NBC Universal had revenues of about $15.4 billion. Walt Disney's sales in 2010 were around 41 billion dollars, Time Warner took in around 26.5 billion dollars.
