Background Comcast was, at the time, the largest
cable television provider in the United States. It also owned a number of major cable networks, including
E!,
Golf Channel, and
Versus. In 2004, Comcast attempted a
hostile takeover of
The Walt Disney Company for $41 billion, which would have made Comcast the world's largest media conglomerate, if approved. The deal fell through, however; Comcast's motivation for the deal was centered around gaining control of
ESPN, which a Comcast executive described as "the most important and valuable asset" in Disney's portfolio. The same year,
General Electric (GE) acquired an 80% stake in
Universal Studios from
Vivendi, merging it into
NBC to form
NBC Universal. By 2009, NBC Universal's financial performance had struggled due in part to the poor performance of recent Universal Studios' productions, and NBC ranked fourth at the time among the major broadcast television networks in the United States. By contrast, some of NBC Universal's cable networks (such as
MSNBC,
Syfy, and
USA Network) were reporting steady gains in viewership. After the failed Disney deal, Comcast focused on its existing networks (along with its
Comcast SportsNet regional sports networks), and acquired a stake in the film studio
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM).
Proposal Negotiations between Comcast and NBC Universal for a potential acquisition began as early as March 2009;
News Corporation and
Time Warner were also reportedly interested in purchasing NBC Universal. By September 2009, Comcast had negotiated a purchase of a stake in NBC Universal from GE, but the overall deal was held up by negotiations with Vivendi for the sale of its 20% stake to GE. On December 3, 2009, Comcast and NBC Universal confirmed a $6.5 billion deal to merge the two companies, pending approval from the
United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division; the deal would be structured as sale of Vivendi's stake in the company to GE for $5.8 billion, followed by Comcast acquiring a 51% controlling stake of NBC Universal, and contributing its existing media properties to the company, themselves valued at $7.25 billion. As a result, NBC Universal would become a joint venture between Comcast and GE, with Comcast holding a 51% majority stake. As a whole, the deal valued NBC Universal at $30 billion. The deal included an option for General Electric to sell further stakes in the company to Comcast over seven years, or for Comcast to buy stakes at "specified times".
Jeff Zucker was to remain CEO of NBC Universal after the acquisition, and remain headquartered
in New York, but would report to Comcast. Comcast CEO
Brian L. Roberts described the deal as a "perfect fit" for the company, as Comcast would be able to bolster its role as a creator and distributor of content, with a particular emphasis on "[the] multiplatform ‘anytime, anywhere’ media that American consumers are demanding"; increasing access to NBC-owned content through various platforms. The deal would also add Comcast's cable channels to NBCU's existing suite of cable networks, contributing to 82% of the merged company's total revenue. Despite the focus on cable, Comcast promised to remain committed to over-the-air broadcasting and promised an increased amount of local news,
children's programming, and
Spanish language programming across various platforms, including over-the-air. There were concerns from the owners of NBC's affiliates, who urged the FCC to require that Comcast maintain NBC programming on over-the-air television, and not move it exclusively to cable. Several competing internet service and television providers urged the FCC to place conditions on Comcast if the deal were to be approved, including requiring that Comcast adhere to the principles of
net neutrality, offer wholesale access to its broadband services, and place limits on how Comcast can leverage its NBC-owned stations in
retransmission consent negotiations to inhibit competition.
AOL proposed that the FCC enforce its
program access rules for Comcast's online video content as well, requiring the provider to offer it to competitors at a fair rate. By June 22, 2010, over 32,000 comments about the deal had been sent to the FCC.
Approval and closure of acquisition On January 18, 2011, the FCC and the
United States Department of Justice (DOJ) approved the acquisition. Four months later,
Meredith Attwell Baker, the FCC commissioner who approved the deal, was hired as a
lobbyist by Comcast. Upon the completion of the acquisition, which took place on January 28, NBC Universal was slightly renamed to "NBCUniversal", with the change intended to reflect "unity" between NBC and
Universal Studios. NBC Universal, Inc. became a wholly owned subsidiary of the holding company and was renamed NBCUniversal Media, LLC on January 29. Comcast agreed to offer an internet service plan for qualifying low-income families for at least three years as part of the acquisition. The plan, "Internet Essentials", initially offered a 1.5-megabit connection for $9.95 per month (increased to 5 megabits in 2013) with no activation or equipment fees, as well as an opportunity to purchase a discounted
netbook and receive free "internet training". Of an estimated 2.60 million households eligible for the program, about 0.22 million households participated in the program as of June 2013. Comcast stated that the program would accept new customers for the duration of the mandate. Comcast intended to buy out the rest of GE's stake in NBCUniversal over the following seven years. Ownership remained split at 51%–49% for two years, and later, on February 12, 2013, Comcast announced its intention to complete the purchase all at once and assume 100% ownership of the company by the end of March. The deal was officially completed on March 19. ==Scale of new company==