GE, Comcast Close to Deal on NBC Universal
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, November 9, 2009 · 
·
Comcast Corp. and General Electric Co. (GE) agreed to value GE’s NBC Universal at about $30 billion as they discuss creating a joint venture to own the entertainment division, Bloomberg News and the Wall Street Journal reported today, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Rumor has it that Comcast would start out with a 51% stake in NBC, with an option to increase its ownership position to 100% during the next three to seven years. The only wildcard is Vivendi SA, which owns 20% of NBC Universal and is not yet part of the agreement. According to news reports, the deal would be dependent on the French telecom and media company selling its stake.
According to this morning’s report in the Wall Street Journal, the two companies are ironing out the final details and a deal could come as early as this week. Read more
Hulu May Start Charging in 2010
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, October 26, 2009 · ·
News Corp. Deputy Chairman Chase Carey spoke at an industry event last week on the future of the business, where he maintained that consumers need to pay for online broadcast content.
“I think a free model is a very difficult way to capture the value of our content. I think what we need to do is deliver that content to consumers in a way where they will appreciate the value,” Carey said. “Hulu concurs with that, it needs to evolve to have a meaningful subscription model as part of its business.” (Hulu is jointly owned by NBC Universal, News Corp., The Walt Disney Company and Providence Equity Partners.) Read more
AT&T Launches In-Car Entertainment Platform
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, June 8, 2009 · ·
In early June, AT&T announced the nationwide launch of its in-car entertainment platform, AT&T CruiseCast. AT&T is partnering with Broadcasting Corp. (RBC) to offer the service which utilizes satellite technology to overcome line-of-sight obstacles.
Subscribers now will have access to 42 channels — 22 broadcast video and 20 radio — available on their existing rear-seat entertainment systems. Programming includes a variety of channels including CNN Mobile, MSNBC, Disney, Discovery and ESPN Mobile. Read more