Comcast’s Take on the Deal

By David Cohen -- Multichannel News, 1/24/2011 12:01:00 AM

The following is an edited excerpt from Comcast executive vice president David Cohen’s Jan. 18 blog post on the Comcast-NBC Universal deal approval:

I am pleased to report that today we received final regulatory clearance for the Comcast and General Electric joint venture relating to NBC Universal. As we proceed to close this transaction, we look forward to ushering in new benefits for consumers and hastening the arrival of the digital multiplatform, anytime, anywhere media and communications future that Americans want.

We have stated — and we believe the years ahead will prove — that this combination is procompetitive, pro-consumer, and strongly in the public interest. We are gratified that with the clearance of the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice, we can now move forward to combine these assets. This new combination will make possible more innovative programming and distribution opportunities which will permit us to better serve the interests of many key segments of the viewing audience including local viewers in the markets served by NBC Universal’s owned-andoperated NBC and Telemundo stations, the particular interests of Hispanics, African Americans, Asian Americans, children and families, and other key audience segments. We’ve also made a major commitment to encourage broadband adoption by low-income families, advancing an important national goal.

When we announced this transaction last year, we made an unprecedented series of pledges affirming how we would deliver public-interest and consumer benefits. As we continued the dialogue with stakeholders and regulators, we refined and enhanced these public-interest commitments. In all, the many commitments we have made in connection with this transaction will expand on the strengths that Comcast and NBC Universal have built over the years and the new opportunities this combination makes possible.

Most importantly, all of the commitments we have made, and conditions that we have agreed to, are wholly consistent with the manner in which we have always intended to conduct the Comcast and NBC Universal businesses. None of them will prevent us from executing on our business plans or will impair the competitiveness of any of our businesses.

We are grateful for the broad support this transaction received throughout this process. We believe it not only had more public support on the record than any transaction ever before, but was also one of the most thoroughly examined media/communications transactions ever.

For America to continue to lead in the entertainment and information industries, it has to innovate in both content creation and distribution. Comcast and NBC Universal will continue to be drivers of that innovation. As soon as the transaction closes, we can get started.