Comcast Buying NBC Universal? Comcast Calls Report "Inaccurate," May Be In Talks For NBCU Stake

Update 2:30 PM ET: CNBC's David Faber reports that GE and Comcast are in talks "about a deal in which GE would spin off its NBC Universal unit into a new company that would be merged with the content assets of Comcast."

Faber sources his report to "people familiar with the negotiations" and adds that the deal would give Comcast a 51% stake in NBC Universal.

Though, Faber adds, "the prospective deal is complex and is far from a certainty."

Watch Faber discuss his report on air:

Update 10:45 AM ET: NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker sent an email to employees Thursday morning saying that "there are a number of possible things that could happen" should Vivendi choose to sell its 20% stake, but not commenting on the Comcast rumor explicitly:

Not surprisingly, given the attractive nature of our assets, there is always significant interest in NBC Universal. That has been amplified lately by the annual discussion with Vivendi about its 20 percent ownership of our company. Vivendi has been a superb owner of NBC Universal, along with GE, for more than five years. They have not yet made us aware of any final decisions about their future with us; should they choose to exit, there are a number of possible things that could happen. It is our longstanding policy not to comment on rumors, and we have adhered to that policy in connection with these rumors. As distracting as it may be to hear and read about potential changes to our ownership structure, nothing is more important than keeping this company strong.

Read Zucker's full e-mail here.

Update 8:30 AM ET: Several reports Thursday further contradict Waxman's report that Comcast has hammered out a deal to buy NBC Universal for $35 billion.

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Nikki Finke reports that Comcast is but one of a half dozen "tire-kickers" that General Electric has spoken to about a potential "investment in or acquisition of NBCU or just Vivendi's 20%." Finke calls Waxman's report "blog bullshit."

Bloomberg reports that Comcast is in talks to buy about 50% of NBC Universal — GE controls 80% and Vivendi controls the remaining 20%:

The New York Times' Bill Carter corroborates Finke's reporting, claiming that Comcast "was one of several companies in talks about potentially buying a stake in NBC Universal" but that no deal has been made. Further, Carter reports that executives briefed on the talks "said it was possible that Comcast would seek to acquire the 20 percent of NBC Universal that is controlled by Universal's former owner, the French company Vivendi."

AllThingsD's Peter Kafka quotes Comcast COO Steve Burke from a conference last month saying that Comcast would love to have more cable channels but that it isn't likely to make a mega-deal like the $35 billion deal Waxman reported was hammered out this week.

Original Post: The Wrap's Sharon Waxman reports that Comcast has hammered out a deal to buy NBC Universal from General Electric for $35 billion.

Waxman sources her item to "knowledgeable individuals," reporting that the deal was hammered out Tuesday by bankers for both organizations in New York:

Deal points were hammered out at a meeting among bankers for both sides in New York on Tuesday, executives familiar with the meeting said.

Two individuals informed about the meeting said that a deal had already been completed at a purchase price of $35 billion.

Comcast, however, has called Waxman's report "inaccurate," releasing the following statement:

While we do not normally comment on M&A rumors, the report that Comcast has a deal to purchase NBC Universal is inaccurate.

The New York Times' Andrew Ross Sorkin reports that "people briefed on the matter also denied the report of an imminent deal."

The Los Angeles Times' Joe Flint reports that Comcast is in talks over NBC Universal — Flint uses the phrase "kicking the tires" — but not that a deal has been struck.

AllThingsD's Peter Kafka argues that the deal would make sense for Comcast:

Comcast is flush with cash, could presumably take on more debt if it wanted to, and has shown an interest in branching out into content before.

Developing...

Comments

[jonnai]

Everyone has great comments but. What everyone is also forgetting is that a big chunk of people do not. Recieve NBC since they went digital. People who do not have a cable connection are using regular t.v. and they are not recieving NBC. So that could be another problem.

[jalowe1957]

51% does not equal total ownership.

Remember, there are those who hold stakes in this proposed venture as well.

[blueskybigstar]

Comcast, is it true that you are a CIA run corporation? And, if so, could you answer the question of how many corporations are CIA run?

[milesaway1]

People should know that Comcast has recently laid off workers and has been under a hiring freeze for the past year, yet they are "flush with cash."

[Ozarks]

Well , Microsoft owns 18% of NBC Universal, so if ComCast gets any portion of NBC Universal from GE then Billo the Clown couldn't attackGE because Keith Olberman keeps making Billo look like the Clown he is. Further, maybe Comcast could extend coverage of KO and Rachel so that they could compete on all cable and satellite "tiers" with Fox. Then there could be an accurate "market share" comparison instead of the hoax now being sold on Fox "Ratings".

[madcat007]

Actually I'm mostly against this sale. While NBC probably should be sold, and because I'm a MSNBC loving (at least from 8-10) Charter subscriber and have a tendency to see the glass half empty, I worry. That said, to take your point further, Bill-O also couldn't attack Comcast without risk because Faux might not have quite as nice of a "channel number". They could always move them to the high numbers, where MSNBC is on many providers now. Also, maybe they would move them into "The Place for Politics" for real, by that I mean weekends too instead of the stupid prison shows, which I've written to MSNBC and complained about. Time will tell.
At first I was concerned that MSNBC would get the ax if Comcast bought it because I had heard the were big Republican donors, so I googled it and happily they gave to both parties fairly equally, in fact the Dems got a bit more so maybe Comcast will bring MSNBC along the way GE should've and more importantly, make it available in every market where Faux is. My concern is that I have Charter and that they get a hair across their butts and remove MSNBC from my line-up on their own. I don't want a dish on my house!

http://fundrace.huffingtonpost.com/neighbors.php?type=emp&employer=Comcast+Corporation

[Kevin Ehsani]

thanks for the link, madcat. i was wondering what kind of a "far-left" organization would want to purchase a company with so many "far-left zealots" and "loons" like NBC, then finding out that the organization is as bi-partisan politically as can be.

personally, I hope the sale happens for the same reason Ozarks mentioned.­.. im sick of oreilly using unproven and false accusations to attack GE and baselessly linking them to the obama administration and claiming they received money because they "won him the election". its such a load of BS, but that's oreilly for you. also, i dont like the fact that GE would still own virtually half of NBCU because than oreilly could link comcast with GE and continue the false attacks like that.

furthermore, as you mentioned, i also like the fact that if they get purchased by comcast, their channels will be better marketed all across the country and MSNBC will be put on an even playing field with fox news, and CNN, if their ratings were to improve. this is why GE shouldnt be running a cable news channel... it just doesnt work.

[KoolAidAmerica]

the real reason ge wants to get rid of pmsnbc
Looking for a fitting historical analogy to describe the current "cable wars?" Try the firebombing of Dresden.

Fox News has been dominating its competitors now for some time, but the latest round of Abritron ratings shows FNC absolutely scorching rivals CNN and MSNBC:

cableratings

As you can see, every show in the top ten is from Fox News, as are 13 out of the top 15. In fact, only one of Fox News' fourteen programs is ranked below #15 in the ratings. That show is Red Eye, which airs from 3-4am - and it still pulls in more viewers than MSNBC's Morning Joe.

The personal battle between Bill O'Reilly and Keith Olbermann is no contest. Even O'Reilly's repeat show at 11pm pulls in 52% more viewers than Olberman's prime time show.

The war among morning shows - though not as high profile as it is on the Big Three - is also a joke. If you combine the household audience numbers from CNN's American Morning and MSNBC's Morning Joe, they still fall 23% below the number of households tuning in to watch Fox and Friends.

Overall, Fox News generates nearly twice as many viewers each day as CNN and MSNBC put together. If this were in fact a war, the white flag would be running up the pole as we speak.

[madcat007]

Clearly you people love fiction. Real news can be pretty depressing so people watch crap like "Dancing With the Stars" and Faux Newz.

[Kevin Ehsani]

no wonder your name has the words "koolaid" in it... its very fitting when reading the repetitive talking points that other foxbots parrot all the time.

[Agent420]

Comcast sucks in so many ways. I would not give you two cents for the entire company. Sure, they have hundreds of channels of HD, but 99.44% are crap that you would not pay for if you could have the choice, but you don't have the choice. Kind of like health care.

[JFaye]

COMCAST, a former provider of cable service to my home was fired because of consistently lousy service. Can't imagine them owning NBC or any network for that matter ... well, perhaps FAUX. On the other hand, if they own it, MSNBC would flood the market thus providing some much needed competition in more markets for FAUX.

[madcat007]

At first I was concerned that MSNBC would get the ax if Comcast bought it because I had heard the were big Republican donors, so I googled it and happily they gave to both parties fairly equally, in fact the Dems got a bit more so maybe Comcast will bring MSNBC along the way GE should've and more importantly, make it available in every market where Faux is. My concern is that I have Charter and that they get a hair across their butts and remove MSNBC from my line-up on their own. I don't want a dish on my house!

http://fundrace.huffingtonpost.com/neighbors.php?type=emp&employer=Comcast+Corporation

[Clem2]

Against this!
As a member of NBC Credit Union (I used to work at KNBC)... am totally against it.

I think this should fall under antitrust, anyhow. Of course in our Corporatocracy this would be applauded.

[LemonMeringue]

How much does a cable installer get paid at Comcast?

[nonofyabusiness]

Comcast owes all it's customers a huge refund!!!!!!

[Wilson201]

I think this is bad. Really bad.

[OverIt]

Where the H-E double Hockey Sticks is the DOJ's Antitrust Division!?!?!?!?!

[17ladyslippers]

Why is NBC Universal on the block anyway?

Is General Electric having financial trouble that they're not disclosing. Someone should look at the books. After all that's gone down in the past 13 or 14 months with the "too big to fail" phrase tied to Financial Services, Insurance Companies, etc. - do we need to start auditing the huge, diversified conglomerates?

Probably too late; sort of like closing the barn door after the horses took off...

[mlu]

Immelt spoke some time ago about divesting GE of some its 'diversity­.' It has been some time since I read it, but they had financial units up for sale. They appear to be moving into water purification and alternative energy. That is some distance from NBC.

[lukebenward]

Anyone worried Comcast would just shut down MNSBC?

What ever happened to the NBC News Channel rebrand?

[jimrs6]

Who would notice?

[writeaway]

Me. I don't watch much else.

[madcat007]

No, you cons wouldn't notice because the facists at Faux are all you watch. Since you believe a one party state is the way to go and any dissenting opinions are treasonist, you despise the fact that we now have a channel that we on the left can enjoy during the evening. And please don't give that fair and balanced BS, Faux is a republican propaganda channel, nothing more, nothing less. At least Keith, Rachel and Ed don't claim to not be "liberals". They're honest as to where they're coming from and how they view things.