Sources: Comcast in Talks to Buy NBC
The late breaking news doesn’t seem to stop these days:
“Comcast, the nation’s leading provider of cable, entertainment and communications products and services, is in talks to buy the entertainment giant NBC-Universal from General Electric, according to knowledgeable individuals.
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.”
I have no opinion if this is remotely true, but $35 billion sounds kinda rich . . .
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Source:
Exclusive: Comcast in Talks to Buy NBC-Universal from General Electric
Sharon Waxman
The Wrap, September 30, 2009
http://www.thewrap.com/article/exclusive-comcast-buy-nbc-universal-general-electric-8002
September 30th, 2009 at 10:04 pm
This will help CNBC’s ratings as Comcast will make the Fox Business and Bloomberg signals erratic. I’m just saying.
September 30th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
Have you seen how overleveraged GE is? Granted it might be a generous price, but GE really needs money.
September 30th, 2009 at 10:10 pm
Please give me some different faces on Sqauwk Box, OK?
September 30th, 2009 at 10:30 pm
Oh well. Bloomberg and Fox Business will live on happily ever after.
Comcast denies rumor: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aadCCaAzBln8
September 30th, 2009 at 10:46 pm
I’ll chime in .. WTF are you thinking Comcast
it didn’t work for AOL/Time and won’t for you either
ya wanna know why .. because subscribers don’t like the idea of obviously to high subscription payments going to buy companies you have no business in try’g to be in … where is TBTF legislation when you need it .. and the FCC with monopoly control
September 30th, 2009 at 11:00 pm
A marriage made in heaven.
Best pairing since FedEx and Kinko’s.
September 30th, 2009 at 11:02 pm
Y’all can rush right over here:
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/cnbc-sale
to contribute to the discussion on the ummm… “quality” of prospective replacement CNBC anchors.
September 30th, 2009 at 11:04 pm
If, say, “CNBC Sucks” were to buy CNBC, would it have to be renamed “CNBC Suck’s CNBC”?
Just asking…
September 30th, 2009 at 11:10 pm
“CNBC Suck’s CNBC”
nice ring to it
September 30th, 2009 at 11:29 pm
It certainly would accelerate the death of the local broadcasting affiliates.
October 1st, 2009 at 12:27 am
O.M.G. (actually, i am thinking, O.M.F.G., but I didn’t want to type that on this august blog)
I think I want to move to a remote cave.
Comcast needs to be broken up, not allowed to get larger.
I want to see Comcast split into three customer-focused areas:
1) wiring and delivery infrastructure – a.k.a., the coax on the poles. Lease this to whomever needs the delivery capability into the home.
2) content – the NBC’s, the Comcast Sp;ort channel, ettc., of the world. Provide this to whomever can make a buck from it.
3) telecom – ISP and digital telephone. Use (1) like any other ISP would Provide some competition to Comcast’s gawd-awful customer service.
As Comcast currently stands, there is too much intermingling among those three divisions, to the detriment (and increased cost and dissatisfaction) of the end customer.
Let Capitalism reign, allow the three separate areas of Comcast to compete and provide customers with cost-effective, customer-focused products, and not the “take it or leave it” line-up that Comcast currently provides.
October 1st, 2009 at 12:33 am
Comcast Denies Report on a Deal to Buy NBC Universal
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/01/business/media/01nbc.html
October 1st, 2009 at 2:39 am
FDIC seeks prepayment. I have always stated that the real problem with the economy is not credit crisis nor the real estate crisis but it is bank closures. We are seeing a complete repeat of the movie called “The great depression”.
FDIC seeks prepayment
Also read Chinese auto makers on the rise while US on the decline.
China on the rise
fresbee
GA Alpha Fund manager
October 1st, 2009 at 9:13 am
Don’t know about Comcast but is there anything GE owns thats not for sale?
October 1st, 2009 at 9:14 am
I am suprised no one has commented on the beating Comcast’s stock has taken even with the past 6 months(or so) rise in the markets. Comcast’s stock is still in the dumps. How would Comcast pay for such an acquisition?
October 1st, 2009 at 9:21 am
A little dated, but still amusing.
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/29006
October 1st, 2009 at 11:26 am
Ahh yes, Comcast….An American success story.
Let’s see, two publicly traded stocks (CMCSA & CMCSK), with no real explanation of the difference. Doesn’t matter though, there’s a third private stock that has all the voting power. Never really understood how they exactly financed the AT&T cable systems ($45B) or Adelphia ($18B), or where that money went, but hey, if they say they’ll scrape together $35B for CNBC, who am I to ask questions? I’m sure it’s all Comcastic and they’ll do great at covering the financial markets (they used to own QVC after all).
October 1st, 2009 at 11:30 am
Old media is dying, as we discussed in a previous thread. And good riddance. GE can sell a mainstream media outlet and repurpose (er — maybe, replenish?) its capital.
October 1st, 2009 at 11:38 am
“This will help CNBC’s ratings as Comcast will make the Fox Business and Bloomberg signals erratic. I’m just saying.”
What they will do is place CNBC in the cheapo basic package and move all the competition to the platinum super expensive package.
October 1st, 2009 at 11:41 am
“Oh well. Bloomberg and Fox Business will live on happily ever after.
Comcast denies rumor: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aadCCaAzBln8”
they just said the deal hasn’t been finalized. they didn’t deny it completely.
October 1st, 2009 at 1:41 pm
“anything GE owns thats not for sale” I was wondering if that angle might be part of it .. (more substance less outrage)
I think … I count 9 channels in my areas lineup .. I wonder how far behind the NBCunivs* is on carry costs or something like that .. OR (not my job) Comcast is sick of carry charges for these 9+ (+3 semi-local markets) .. ie sat charges and distribution amps
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBC_Universal
* have you noticed the stuff for sale with national tv airtime these days (blankies with sleeves)(shawollas) .. maybe own the lines and hyping themselve
ps – you marketeers did the AOL purchase workout good for the contract seller (Time) ?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wc_fields
October 1st, 2009 at 2:59 pm
GE created NBC in the 1920s to push its products, interests, and agendas, and uses it the same way to this day. GE will never sell NBC. This is just boardroom drama with Vivendi.
October 1st, 2009 at 3:01 pm
[...] noted last night, Comcast is discussing a majority NBC purchase from GE: • Comcast-GE Talks Heighten Intrigue Over [...]
October 1st, 2009 at 3:14 pm
sinomania,
NBC was founded by RCA so people who bought radios had stuff to listen to, and was sold to GE IN 1986, but if your point is GE sucks, I’m in 100% in agreement.
October 1st, 2009 at 7:10 pm
Comcast just wants Hulu