Media Bites-October 16 2009

Comcast-NBC Universal-Vivendi deal will change the entertainment landscape.
The deal for Comcast to buy 51% of NBC Universal is just about wrapped up and the word is stil out on whether Vivendi will divest its 20% stake in NBC Universal.

Comcast subscribers total over 24 million and contribute to more than half of the company's 2009 revenue. The reasoning behind this deal all points back to viewing of content or as Brian Roberts, Comcast CEO calls 'cable bypass'-canceling their subscriptions and gravitating towards on line viewing platforms. The way around that is to prevent posting content on the internet, fee for content or accessing the content by proving users already subscribe to a pay TV service (TV Everywhere) Once this deal is complete, Comcast would hold the most TV assets worldwide including a percentage of the NBC broadcast network, Telemundo, USA, Bravo, MSNBC and CNBC.

To complete the deal that Comcast wants, Vivendi,(http://www.vivendi.com/vivendi/-accueil-en-) the French media and telecommunication company must shed 20% of its ownership in NBC Universal. Vivendi has until Nov 15 to notify one of its media partners GE, on whether they will sell any interest in NBC Universal.

It would be great if this entertainment merger and acquisition resulted in better quality programming, reduced subscription rates and innovative viewing technologies. It should since Comcast (http://www.cmcsk.com/)would control most of the content and production currently airing. Stay tuned as this will not be the end of TV consolidation, there will be much more to come that will hopefully make a positive impact on they way TV is delivered and consumed.