Sale to Comcast backed by NBC affiliates

Sale to Comcast backed by NBC affiliatesIt has been reported that independently owned NBC television stations say they back Comcast Corp.'s planned takeover of General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal.

The Wall Street Journal has reported that their support for the deal came after Comcast agreed to measures designed to protect stations' interests.

It was also reported that group representing NBC affiliates is to spell out the conditions it wants in a filing Monday with the Federal Communications Commission, said Brian G. Lawlor, the group's chairman and the head of E. W. Scripps Co.'s television division.

The conditions include obligations not to move big sports programs like NFL games to cable channels and not to bypass local stations by sending the NBC signal straight to cable.

Comcast agreed to not oppose the measures, the Journal further said.

D'Arcy Rudnay, Comcast's senior vice president of corporate communications, said, "We made a commitment when we announced the transaction to support over-the-air broadcasting. We will not oppose their conditions because they simply further Comcast's original commitment."

Monday is the deadline for comments on regulatory approval of the Comcast-NBC deal, in which Comcast agreed to pay about $13.75 billion in cash and assets to gain control of NBC Universal.

It has further been reported that local NBC stations had been negotiating with Comcast since December. (With inputs from Agencies)