Skip to main content

FCC chair proposes conditions on Comcast/NBC merger

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Just days after announcing a new framework for network neutrality—which is largely being interpreted as favoring corporate interests over consumer rights and a free Internet—FCC chairman Julius Genachowski has proposed conditions for the pending merger between cable giant Comcast and broadcaster NBC Universal. The conditions, if enacted, would guarantee Comcast’s competitors would have reasonable, non-discriminatory access to NBC television programing. However, neither Genachowski nor the broader FCC have disclosed the specific conditions in the proposal.

Recommended Videos

Comcast is seeking government approval to acquire a 51 percent controlling stake in NBC Universal from General Electric in a deal with about $13.8 billion. The deal was announced over a year ago but has had to wind its way through considerable regulatory review from the FCC and the Justice Department. Comcast has been pushing to get the deal completed by the end of 2010, although it’s now looking like approval will happen in early 2011.

The intention behind Genachowski’s conditions seems to be preventing Comcast from holding NBC programming hostage from other video service providers, like satellite TV operators, competing cable companies, phone operators, as well as online video distributors. Critics of the Comcast/NBC merger have speculated that Comcast would begin charging higher fees for competitors to carry NBC programming, protecting Comcast’s own customer base while driving up costs for non-Comcast services. Genachowski must still garner support for his proposal from fellow FCC commissioners: at least two others must support the idea for the conditions to be imposed on the merger.

NBC Universal represents a broad pantheon of television programming, including now only the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks but also a number of cable properties including Bravo, CNBC, Oxygen, SyFy, and USA. Universal Pictures, in addition to being a major movie studio, also controls theme parks. NBC also owns a stake in the online video distribution service Hulu.

Comcast is the nation’s largest cable television operator, with about 23 million video subscriber. The company is also the nation’s larger broadband ISP, with more than 17 million Internet subscribers.

Backbone Internet operator Level 3 Communications has called for regulators to place restrictions on the Comcast/NBC merger that requires Comcast to adhere to reasonable, non-discriminatory practices in interconnecting with other Internet operators.

Geoff Duncan
Former Contributor
Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…
WWDC 2025: Apple announces iOS 26, macOS 26, watchOS 26 and more
Major updates to iOS, macOS, watchOS, iPadOS, tvOS and visionOS
WWDC 2025 logo

Apple kicked off WWDC 2025 with its keynote presentation at its annual World Wide Developer's conference, and it was a bumper affair.

We were treated to a raft of updates across all of the firm's software platforms, as we were introduced to iOS 26, iPadOS 26, watchOS 26, macOS 26, tvOS 26 and visionOS 26.

Read more
ChatGPT was down: how the June 10 OpenAI outage unfolded
AI assistant ChatGPT and image creator Sora were down as part of a major OpenAI outage
ChatGPT logo on a phone

The popular AI assistant ChatGPT, and image generator Sora, suffered significant downtime as part of a major OpenAI outage today, June 10.

Downdetector showed reports regarding a ChatGPT outage started shortly before 12am PDT overnight and into June 10. This wasn't the first time we've seen ChatGPT go down, with an outage also occurring back in December 2024.

Read more
For gamers on a budget — this Amazon Basics gaming monitor is on sale for $110
The Amazon Basics 27-inch Full HD gaming monitor on a white background.

If you're still using a basic display with your gaming PC, then you're not maximizing its capabilities. You don't have to spend hundreds of dollars on an upgrade though, as you can get the 27-inch Amazon Basics Full HD gaming monitor for only $110 right now. That's a $40 discount from Amazon on its original price of $150, but we're not sure for how much longer, so we highly recommend proceeding with your purchase as soon as possible on one of the most affordable monitor deals for gamers today.

Why you should buy the 27-inch Amazon Basics Full HD gaming monitor

Read more