Comcast Corp.’s proposed takeover of NBC Universal is raising concern among independent NBC stations that network programming may appear first on cable, an executive plans to tell Congress.
Independent stations affiliated with NBC also want to prevent “migration” of the network’s sports and other programs from broadcast to cable channels, Michael Fiorile, head of the NBC Television Affiliates Board, said in testimony prepared for a congressional hearing Thursday.
Comcast announced on Dec. 3 a deal to gain control of General Electric Co.’s NBC Universal, which includes the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, a movie studio with a library of several thousand films, television stations, cable networks, a theme park business and a stake in the Hulu online video service. The deal needs approval from Washington regulators.
Philadelphia-based Comcast, the largest U.S. cable operator, would gain control of 10 NBC-owned stations. “Some 200” NBC stations are owned by independent businesses that are “optimistic” Comcast will have incentives to invest in local television, said Fiorile, president of Dispatch Printing Co., a closely held company that owns NBC-affiliated WTHR in Indianapolis.
Independent stations want “clear, specific, documented and enforceable conditions” about their relation with “the new Comcast-controlled NBC,” said Fiorile, who is to testify before the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet. He didn’t immediately respond to a phone message seeking further comment.
Comcast Chief Executive Officer Brian Roberts and Jeff Zucker, CEO of NBC Universal, said in joint testimony prepared for the subcommittee that the combined company “remains committed to continuing to provide free over-the-air television.”
Comcast “has strong incentives — and the ability — to invest in and grow the broadcast businesses it is acquiring, in partnership with the local affiliates,” Roberts and Zucker said.
