On Tuesday, government antitrust regulators gave the green light to Comcast’s merger deal with NBC Universal. According to The Wall Street Journal, Comcast is expected to close the $30 billion deal late next week. Last December, Comcast acquired a controlling stake in NBCU from General Electric Co. Since then, antitrust regulators with the Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department have been studying the deal.
As can be expected, there will be many changes to the companies as Comcast takes control of NBCU from General Electric and takes the merged company in a new direction. According to The Wall Street Journal, on Thursday, the president of prime-time entertainment at NBC, Angela Bromstad, announced to her staff that she would be leaving her position when Comcast takes over.
The new chairman of NBC Entertainment, Bob Greenblatt, will oversee all entertainment network programming. According to the WSJ, it is not clear yet whether someone will replace Bromstad in her vacated role. NBC is about to begin choosing pilots for the new television season and is looking for ratings improvement. Bromstad began in her position in December 2008 and, according to the WSJ, oversaw two seasons that were “underwhelming.”
Media watchdogs, consumer groups and some members of Congress have complained that the deal will hurt competition. Comcast has continually insisted that the deal will be good for consumers.
Source:
NBC Executive to Depart (The Wall Street Journal)