dan9999
12-09-2009, 04:03 PM
Comcast CEO Roberts Said to Meet With U.S. Regulators on NBC
Todd Shields
Dec. 9, 2009
Bloomberg
Comcast Corp. Chief Executive Officer Brian Roberts, who will seek U.S. approval for his company’s bid to control General Electric Co.’s NBC Universal unit, met with regulators yesterday, people familiar with the meetings said.
Roberts and Jeffrey Zucker, chief executive of NBC Universal, met separately with four of the five commissioners of the Federal Communications Commission, including Chairman Julius Genachowski, according to four people who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorized to discuss the meetings.
Participants described the sessions as introductory. Roberts and Zucker declined to comment as they emerged from the meetings at the FCC’s Washington headquarters. The executives told FCC officials the companies intend to file for approval within 30 to 45 days, said two participants in the discussions.
Jen Howard, a spokeswoman for Genachowski, declined to comment.
The FCC and antitrust authorities will be asked to approve the bid by Philadelphia-based Comcast, the largest U.S. cable company, for control of NBC Universal, and with it management of the NBC television network, cable channels and a movie studio.
Critics, including the consumer advocacy group Free Press, have called on federal agencies to block the deal, saying Comcast would gain too much power. Several members of Congress including Senator Herb Kohl, a Wisconsin Democrat, have said they intend to hold public hearings on the issue.
The regulatory review could take 9 to 12 months, said Comcast Executive Vice President David Cohen in an interview last week.
Todd Shields
Dec. 9, 2009
Bloomberg
Comcast Corp. Chief Executive Officer Brian Roberts, who will seek U.S. approval for his company’s bid to control General Electric Co.’s NBC Universal unit, met with regulators yesterday, people familiar with the meetings said.
Roberts and Jeffrey Zucker, chief executive of NBC Universal, met separately with four of the five commissioners of the Federal Communications Commission, including Chairman Julius Genachowski, according to four people who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorized to discuss the meetings.
Participants described the sessions as introductory. Roberts and Zucker declined to comment as they emerged from the meetings at the FCC’s Washington headquarters. The executives told FCC officials the companies intend to file for approval within 30 to 45 days, said two participants in the discussions.
Jen Howard, a spokeswoman for Genachowski, declined to comment.
The FCC and antitrust authorities will be asked to approve the bid by Philadelphia-based Comcast, the largest U.S. cable company, for control of NBC Universal, and with it management of the NBC television network, cable channels and a movie studio.
Critics, including the consumer advocacy group Free Press, have called on federal agencies to block the deal, saying Comcast would gain too much power. Several members of Congress including Senator Herb Kohl, a Wisconsin Democrat, have said they intend to hold public hearings on the issue.
The regulatory review could take 9 to 12 months, said Comcast Executive Vice President David Cohen in an interview last week.