Aaron62

bicker

They're not just buying NBC; they're buying NBC Universal, which includes USA Network and Syfy (both of which just had an incredible summer), and Bravo and Sleuth and CNBC and MSNBC and a whole host of other cable channels. They're also buying Universal Studios, which produces both films and television programs, as well as operates theme parks. It also includes most of MSNBC.com.

I don't know if the price is too high or not, but it is a good match.

Aaron62

Talk about a powerhouse. Wonder if other cable or satellite companies will follow and start buying other networks.

Piggie

Why not one owner for all telecommunications. Too big to fail, too big to change, too big to influence. Charge what they want. Let happen, a lot of you people have a lot longer to live with the new world order than I do.

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The more I understand, the less I know.

bicker

Comcast and NBC are not competitors... it's vertical integration, not market consolidation.

Don_M

Sure it is. Reminds me of a college buddy who, while he was still looking for his first job, used to spoof friends by walking up, shaking hands firmly, looking his target square in the eye and saying:

Piggie

It makes even more insidious being vertical. Now by being the provider of the content they own, to me it's too much power in one set of hands. Not that all the cable networks aren't already totally controlled.

__________________
The more I understand, the less I know.

NYCLA*

Comcast owning a majority stake in NBC would be BAD NEWS. A cable company shouldn't own a broadcast network. If cable companies had their way, broadcast television would cease to exist, and they would require everyone to pay to have television piped into their homes. Oh, and OTA sub-channels? Cable companies would LOVE to kill those. Pay for cable to get more choice, they'd say. Universal Sports? They could kill it in favor of their own cable only channel, Versus. There used to be laws that forbid cable companies from owning broadcast operations but they were gutted. This is bad news. It's not good for the public. Not at all. Cable companies are scum and Comcast is one of the WORST of them. I really hope shareholders reject this deal. Comcast's stock actually fell after the news.

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4:3 480i must DIE. All channels should be broadcast in 16:9 480p MINIMUM.

Piggie

The big 4 own several of their own stations, with maybe FOX being the biggest holder of broadcast licenses. Even back in the day, the networks owned the big market stations, but only a few.

This to me was ok, to limit the ownership. The gutting of laws to allow companies to own newspapers, magazines, broadcast, cable is very bad for the economy as well as democracy.

I didn't look at the news, but that is interesting the shares of Comcast fell after the news. Everything today is measured in the short term gains of Wall Street without regard for all the other effects. We have effectively lost much of our democracy and until these type of practices change, we will loose more and more.

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The more I understand, the less I know.

NYCLA*

Another thing: If cable companies start owning the broadcast networks, you can also kiss goodbye websites like Hulu. Do you like being able to watch network TV shows online? Because the cable companies DON'T like that. If people can watch shows online, and they aren't able to get OTA signals, they only need to subscribe to internet service, and they don't need cable. Cable companies HATE TV shows on the internet. No, no, no, you do NOT want Comcast to own NBC or any other cable company owning any broadcast network.

BAD NEWS!

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4:3 480i must DIE. All channels should be broadcast in 16:9 480p MINIMUM.