Network
Comcast, the largest U.S. cable-television company, is in talks with General Electric Co. to buy about half of NBC Universal, said three people with knowledge of the private discussions. NBC Universal owns the NBC television network, cable channels and a film studio and has government licenses for 10 local television stations.
Regulators may ask whether a Comcast-NBC combination would give rival television providers, led by AT&T Inc., Verizon Communications Inc., Dish Network Corp. and DirecTV Group Inc., fair access to films and TV shows, said Andrew Lipman, a Washington-based analyst.
“Theres increased focus at the Federal Communications Commission and Department of Justice on exclusive programming,” Lipman, a Washington-based partner in the media, telecommunications and technology practice at Bingham McCutchen LLP, said in an interview today.
Agencies reviewing a deal would include the FCC and either the Justice Department or the Federal Trade Commission, according to Harold Feld, legal director of Public Knowledge, a Washington-based advocacy group.
The Justice Department revoked in May a Bush administration antitrust policy, calling it an impediment to fighting anticompetitive conduct. “We can no longer rely upon the marketplace alone to ensure that competition and consumers will be protected,” Christine Varney, the top U.S. antitrust official, said in a speech May 11.
Media Diversity
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said during his Senate confirmation hearing in June that ensuring diversity in media ownership is “an important principle and priority.”
Sena Fitzmaurice, a Washington-based Comcast spokeswoman, declined to comment. Kathy Kelly-Brown, a spokeswoman for NBC Universal in New York, didnt immediately return a telephone call and e-mail.
NBC Universals properties include the NBC Television Network; FCC-licensed stations in cities including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles; the Spanish-language Telemundo network; cable networks such as USA Network, CNBC, MSNBC and Bravo, Universal Pictures; and theme parks, according to the companys Web site.
Regulators may ask whether Universal Pictures would release films for use exclusively by Comcast cable and online channels before making them available to the companys rivals.
“This kind of program access issue is very significant,” Feld said in an interview today. “Given the tenor of this administration, which is both more technologically sophisticated and attuned to these kinds of antitrust concerns, these are issues that the deal would have to have some good answers for.”