Four of the commission's five members voted to let Comcast buy a 51% stake in NBC Universal from General Electric (GE) for $13.8 billion in cash and assets. Michael Copps, one of the commission's three Democrats and an opponent of media consolidation, voted against the deal.
The companies are still awaiting Justice Department approval, which was expected later Tuesday.
With the transaction certain to transform the entertainment industry landscape, regulators are attaching conditions to prevent Comcast from trampling competitors once it takes control of NBC's vast media empire.
Among other things, the FCC is requiring Comcast to make NBC programming available to competitors including rival cable companies, satellite operators and new Internet video services that could pose a threat to Comcast's core cable business
. Regulators want to ensure that emerging online video platforms being developed by companies such as Netflix, Amazon.com and Apple can get the movies and shows they need to grow — and potentially offer a cheaper alternative to monthly cable subscriptions.
Philadelphia-based Comcast has about 23 million cable TV subscribers and nearly 17 million Internet subscribers. It also owns a handful of cable channels, including E! Entertainment and the Golf Channel, and has a controlling interest in the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers and the Flyers hockey team. Comcast's SportsNet Philadelphia channel carries Flyers, Phillies baseball and 76ers basketball games.
Taking over NBC will transform the company into a media powerhouse. NBC Universal owns the NBC and Spanish-language Telemundo broadcast networks; 26 local TV stations; popular cable channels including CNBC, Bravo and Oxygen; the Universal Pictures movie studio and theme parks; and a roughly 30 stake in Hulu.com, which distributes NBC and other broadcast programming online.
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