Comcast one step closer to buying NBC Universal
A few years ago Comcast launched an ill fated attempt to take over The Walt Disney Company. Fortunately that fell through and the mouse was safe from outside influences. Well, it’s taken them a few years, but they have a new target with aims to become one of the biggest media companies in the world.
Machinations have been set underway by GE and Vivendi to first unify and then sell 51% of the stock in NBC Universal to Comcast. This will give Comcast the network station, movie studio, sports network, and theme park operation to rival the Mouse House. And you know what, a little serious competition for Mickey might be a good thing.
(via NY Times)
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Not good for Disney, Disney fans or consumers at large. If Comcast controls both the creation and distribution of content, it’s likely to leverage its cable system against competitors. It could change its basic cable lineup to heavily favor its own networks, charging more for Disney and others. It could manipulate traffic on its network, so video streams better from NBC.com vs. ABC.com. It could even undermine Disney’s stake in Hulu by pulling NBC content, in favor of its “OnDemand Online” service. This deal is anti-competitive, not pro competition.