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Comcast Buys Out GE's Remaining 49% Stake In NBC

Bob the Super Hamste writes "On Tuesday Comcast announced that it would accelerate its acquisition of NBCUniversal and purchase the remaining 49% owned by GE for $16.7 billion. Previously GE and Comcast were expected to operate NBCUniversal jointly until mid 2014 with Comcast having the option to extend that out until 2018. So far there are not details on when the deal with be completed but the article indicates that Comcast's complete acquisition of NBCUniversal will be completed years earlier that initially thought."

8 of 149 comments (clear)

  1. Too much concentrated power by fustakrakich · · Score: 5, Insightful

    These people will become the 'federal government' of the internet.

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
  2. Unprecidented control over US mind-share by MetalliQaZ · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I've been dealing with and reading about Comcast for a long time. This scares me. Already the country has forgotten about the obvious and egregious conflict of interest at the FCC. Face-palm. Comcast now has unprecedented access to the mind-share of the American public, from pre-production to eyeballs.

    Comcast along with other companies like Disney, ClearChannel, etc. are not to be trusted. Be wary, my friends.

    --
    "Here Lies Philip J. Fry, named for his uncle, to carry on his spirit"
  3. Thank god for the internet by crazyjj · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Pretty soon a handful of companies will own every old media outlet out there. Well, at least we still have the internet.

    My ISP? Oh, it's Comcas.....oh shit.

    --
    What political party do you join when you don't like Bible-thumpers *or* hippies?
  4. Vertical Integration by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Jack:The only thing I will be discussing with the House Subcommittee on Baseball, Quiz Shows, Terrorism, and Media is vertical integration.
      Liz:What's vertical integration?
      Jack:Imagine that your favourite corn chip manufacturer also owned the number one diarrhea medication.
        Liz: That'd be great cuz then they could put a little sample of the medication in each bag.
      Jack:Keep thinking.
      Liz:Except then they might be tempted to make the corn chips GIVE you...
      Jack:Vertical integration.

  5. Re:goodbye channels by crazyjj · · Score: 4, Informative

    Comcast already killed off what little was left of TechTV on G4. Now it's going to be the "Esquire Channel" is some shit like that. All the good tech shows are online-only now.

    --
    What political party do you join when you don't like Bible-thumpers *or* hippies?
  6. Fuck Comcast by F34nor · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Largest military industrial complex member sells propaganda wing to oligopoly softcore porn distributor.

  7. Syfy Channel Impact by guttentag · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Syfy is owned by NBC, and Comcast has already made changes there.

    Syfy's Eureka series debuted in 2006. I was never a big fan, but it looked like it had promise, gained a following and did well. They'd throw out occasional references to things like the LHC and CERN, had Joe Morton (who played Miles Dyson in Terminator 2) as a regular character, and even brought in our buddy (and by that I mean he reads and posts on Slashdot) Wil Wheaton toward the end.

    Comcast purchased a majority stake in NBC in January 2011. By August, Eureka was cancelled. The show had good ratings, good viewership, and was considered "the golden child" of Syfy, but Comcast killed it because it was not profitable enough. It wasn't losing money, but Comcast decided that if you have to spend money on special effects to sell the show to viewers, there are lots of cheaper, more profitable ways to get viewers' attention.

    With Comcast poised to take full control of NBC sooner, expect more of the shows that drive Syfy's viewership to be cancelled in the next couple of years, and if they take it far enough eventually Syfy may go away.

    1. Re:Syfy Channel Impact by Hes+Nikke · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Face it: the Sci-Fi channel has been a rotting corpse ever since they mutiliated the name.

      --
      Don't call me back. Give me a call back. Bye. So yeah. But bye our, well, but alright we are on a shirt this chill.