Mar 12 2010

NBC-Comcast deal comes under Justice Department, FCC scrutiny

We can’t say we didn’t warn you. Looks like the kids at Comcast have to answer some questions over at the Justice Department — and the FCC — before they get their hands on NBC. Both agencies have pledged to “examine the transaction closely,” says AP, being ever-vigilant as they are to protect consumers and competition in this free market society of ours. The review could last upwards of a year, but if that means that 2011 could see the debut of NBC-Universal’s “Comcastic!” theme parks, it will all have been worth it.

NBC-Comcast deal comes under Justice Department, FCC scrutiny originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Feb 22 2010

GE’s ‘Create by Jason Wu’ camera collection unveiled, we go hands on

Keep it simple, stupid. There’s no better way to describe the “Create by Jason Wu” collection unveiled at PMA by General Imaging (a.k.a. GE). The fashion designer’s point and shoot could not be easier: you can shoot, choose flash, and view galleries. That’s it — and in fact, if you need a cue, the shooter reminds you to “hold still” while taking a shot. You’re definitely picking this up for style over substance, but still it’s pleasantly light and captures surprisingly decent images. As for the nitty-gritty specs, we’re looking at 12 megapixels, 3x optical zoom, and a 2.7-inch LCD. The battery charges via wall adapter or the retractible USB plug, which is also how you movie images to your computer of choice. Color options? White, black, gold, red, yellow, blue, green for a metal finish; and white, black and grey for leather. A 4GB version is $180, and 8GB is $230 — no memory cards accepted here, folks. Look for the camera to debut, of all places, via Home Shopping Network on March 16th. Press release after the break, shots below — and while you’re looking, we’ve also got an eyeful of the rest of GE’s point-and-shoot PMA collection.

Continue reading GE’s ‘Create by Jason Wu’ camera collection unveiled, we go hands on

GE’s ‘Create by Jason Wu’ camera collection unveiled, we go hands on originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 3 2009

Comcast takes control of NBC, promises not to crush Hulu

As expected, Comcast announced its buyout of NBC this morning, and we have a few details of interest to Engadget readers and fans of rom-coms alike. Essentially, Comcast now owns 51 percent of NBC-Universal to GE’s 49 percent and will manage the entity — leveraging the newly acquired content with their infrastructure. On an investor call (reported by All Things Digital) a short time ago, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts emphasized that the company bought “a bunch of profitable cable channels” and “some theme parks, too” (we think that last part was a joke). Not so funny, of course, is the film studio that’s seen better years and the broadcast network that’s been described elsewhere as “faltering.” When asked about TV Everywhere and Hulu, Comcast COO Steve Burke notes that “NBC has been careful not to put too much cable content on the Internet. We think that’s a smart strategy… We think that going forward, you’re going to continue to have free broadcast stuff on Hulu, and cable stuff on TV Everywhere.” As for rumors of Hulu Premium? “That’s certainly not in the cards.” Web-based TV fanatics will be pleased to note that Roberts appears to be in your court: “We love Hulu and have no intent to crush it like a bug.” That’s all well and good, but as we know nothing’s final until the government has its say: the FCC, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Justice Department are all sure to have strongly held opinions on the matter. PR after the break.

Update:
The “crush it like a bug” comment was actually just some editorializing from Peter Kafka at All Things Digital — but we’re certain Steve Burke has only love in his heart for Hulu.

Continue reading Comcast takes control of NBC, promises not to crush Hulu

Comcast takes control of NBC, promises not to crush Hulu originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Dec 2009 11:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 1 2009

Comcast deal to buy NBC is done, will be announced Thursday

We told you we had a feeling this thing was happening — less than a day after GE consolidated ownership of NBC Universal in preparation to spin it off and sell a controlling stake to Comcast, CNBC is reporting that the deal is actually done and will be announced Thursday morning. As rumored from the start, Comcast will now own 51 percent of NBC to GE’s 49 percent, and the new company will fold in Comcast’s various content assets, which means the new NBC will rival Disney in size. That’s a big enchilada, and it should make the future of Comcast initiatives like TV Everywhere extremely interesting. Of course, all this still has to go through the FCC and FTC, and we wouldn’t expect anything to be approved and finalized for a year, but none of that takes away from the magnitude of this deal. We’ll obviously know more in a couple days, stay tuned.

Comcast deal to buy NBC is done, will be announced Thursday originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 1 2009

Comcast inches closer to buying NBC

It’s been over a month since we last heard anything about the rumored Comcast takeover of NBC, but things are slowly starting to move forward: Bloomberg says that NBC parent company GE has bought out Vivendi’s 20 percent stake in the broadcaster for $5.8b, with up to a $2b refund due back if the Comcast deal isn’t done by the end of 2010. That’s no small gamble — Comcast will have to clear a “gauntlet” of federal regulators from the FCC and FTC, who will scrutinize everything from the transfer of TV broadcast licenses in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles to the effects on competitors like Dish Network and Verizon, who will still want access to NBC’s huge stable of content and programming. Big challenges, to be sure, but we get the feeling this deal is going down one way or another — get ready for a rocky 2010.

Comcast inches closer to buying NBC originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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