Comcast is looking to purchase a 51% share of NBC Universal, hoping to cash in on the online future of video content.
The deal will likely be worth $4 billion to $6 billion, and Comcast is ready to absorb upwards of $12B in debt. The reason for the costly deal? The Philadelphia-based company looks to acquire NBC's wide catalog of TV, movie and online content. Including NBC Network, the company also owns several movie studios and several cable channels, so Comcast will be able to acquire a decent amount of content rights, assuming it can right NBC's financial ship.
Comcast and other companies have struggled to keep up with online content, which is growing in popularity among Internet subscribers. Furthermore, Comcast hopes to strengthen its content distribution model using NBC's current assets that some analysts believe are being mismanaged.
Comcast is currently working on a new service that allows its subscribers to watch online content for free. Hulu, a video site co-owned by NBC, is the leading free video streaming site offering full TV episodes and movies.
Comcast has attempted to increase its content -- including a failed hostile bid for Disney -- but has been unable too create its own content successfully.
Assuming its acquisition is successful, I'm interested to see how Comcast integrates NBC into its business portfolio. I think the deal would prove to be brilliant for NBC, and am curious to hear what you think of a possible NBC acquisition by Comcast.
