Comcast tells FCC broadcast TV will survive NBC deal
Comcast Corp. told regulators it will continue to provide free over-the-air broadcasting and share programming fairly with competitors after it takes over General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal unit.
The joint venture "will promote the public interest" by increasing the quantity and quality of video programming, the largest U.S. cable company said today in a filing asking the Federal Communications Commission to approve the combination. Comcast announced the deal for control of NBC Universal, which includes the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, last month.
Comcast is seeking to satisfy Obama administration officials who have said consolidation of U.S. media companies may thwart competition. In the 145-page filing today, Comcast, GE and NBC Universal pledged to boost children's and Hispanic programming and to add two independent channels each year for the next three years.
"With this filing, we initiate what we hope will be a constructive dialogue with the FCC" and the public, Executive Vice President David Cohen said in a posting on a Comcast blog.
The transaction needs approval from antitrust authorities at the Justice Department, where Comcast filed papers on Jan. 26, and from the FCC, which will review whether the deal serves the public interest. Regulatory review typically takes 9 to 12 months, Comcast Chief Executive Officer Brian Roberts told a Washington conference yesterday.
FCC spokeswoman Jen Howard declined to comment.
Representative John Conyers, the Michigan Democrat who heads the House Judiciary Committee, said in an e-mailed statement that he "will be looking for additional guarantees to protect competition and consumers."
Additions "might include" commitments on independent and sports programming, "and ensuring that consumers still have access to their favorite shows online for minimal or no cost," Conyers said. He said the Judiciary Committee, which oversees the Justice Department, will hold a hearing in February.
Philadelphia-based Comcast would get control through NBC Universal of a movie studio with a library of several thousand films, television stations, cable networks such as Bravo and MSNBC, a theme-park business and a stake in the Hulu online video service.
"At first review, Comcast is promising nothing that will prevent higher prices and protect consumer choices," Josh Silver, executive director of Washington-based consumer advocacy group Free Press, said in an e-mail message. "This is yet more consolidated power in the hands of one company."
Comcast said in the filing that it would extend to NBC Universal-owned TV stations rules that keep it from withholding cable programming from competitors.
The 26 stations at issue include NBC outlets in cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia, and Spanish- language Telemundo stations in cities including Miami, Houston and Dallas, according to NBC Universal's Web site.
The move would ensure fair access to the signal of NBC- owned stations for competitors such as Verizon Communications Inc. and DirectTV Group Inc. The commitment would last as long as the rules do, Comcast said. In September, attorneys working for Comcast and Cablevision Systems Corp. asked federal judges to kill the rules. The court hasn't indicated when it will rule.
Independent businesses own the more than 200 affiliates of the two networks, and they negotiate separately for access to their signals.
Comcast's potential control of NBC's stake in Hulu "poses no threat to competition," the companies said in their filing today.
"There is abundant and growing competition for online video content," including with the leader in Web video viewing, Google Inc., according to the filing. Google owns YouTube, the video-sharing site.
Comcast will merge cable channels worth $7.25 billion with GE's NBC Universal assets, valued at $30 billion, the companies said last month. Comcast will hold a 51 percent stake in the new company. Paris-based Vivendi SA will sell its 20 percent stake in NBC Universal as part of the deal.
Comcast fell 24 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $15.61 at 12:20 p.m. New York time on the Nasdaq Stock Market.