Comcast Corp.’s planned takeover of NBC Universal will draw scrutiny from Obama administration regulators who have said consolidation of U.S. media companies may thwart competition.
The deal became more likely after General Electric Co., NBC’s parent company, agreed Monday to buy Vivendi SA’s 20 percent stake in NBC for $5.8 billion, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions. The agreement paves the way for creation of an entertainment joint venture controlled by Comcast, the biggest U.S. cable company.
The Comcast-NBC union would be reviewed by the Federal Communications Commission and either the Federal Trade Commission or the Justice Department antitrust unit.
“Comcast is going to face a year-long gantlet of regulatory and political hearings,” Craig Moffett, an analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. in New York, said in an interview.
During a Senate hearing in June, Julius Genachowski, since confirmed as FCC chairman, said “excessive consolidation is something I think that still needs to be paid attention to.”
Charlie Ergen, chief executive of Douglas County-based Dish Network, said on a Nov. 9 conference call that he would “have concerns with anybody who owns programming and delivery distribution.”
“Maybe I’ll just get an apartment in Washington” while agencies review the deal, Ergen said. He said Dish Network is “not treated fairly when it comes to the sports teams in Philadelphia,” where Comcast withholds rights to professional basketball, hockey and baseball games from satellite competitors.
