Comcast Takes Control of NBC
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NEW YORK -- Comcast Corp. has finalized a deal to buy a majority stake in NBC Universal for $13.75 billion, giving the nation's largest cable TV operator control of the Peacock network, an array of cable channels and a major movie studio.

Although the deal could mean that movies could reach cable more quickly after showing in theaters, it already is raising concerns that Comcast will wield too much power in the entertainment industry.

Indeed, if the deal clears regulatory and other hurdles, Comcast would rival the heft of The Walt Disney Co. — which Comcast CEO Brian Roberts already tried to buy.

Comcast, which already serves a quarter of all U.S. households that pay for TV, would gain control of the NBC broadcast network, the Spanish-language Telemundo and about two dozen cable channels, including USA, Bravo and Syfy. It also would have regional sports networks, Universal Pictures and theme parks.

In agreeing to buy 51 percent of NBC Universal from General Electric Co., which has controlled NBC since 1986, Comcast hopes to succeed in marrying distribution and content in a way Time Warner Inc. could not. AOL and Time Warner are undoing their ill-fated eight-year marriage Dec. 9. Time Warner has already shed its cable TV operations.

Comcast wants the company largely for its cable channels — which are expected to provide about 80 percent of the new venture's profit. Comcast is seeking more programming to beef up its video-on-demand offerings and rely less on cable revenue as the company loses subscribers to rival providers.

GE would retain a 49 percent stake, with the option of unloading half its stake in 3-1/2 years and all of it after seven years. The new NBC Universal would borrow $9.1 billion that would partially go toward covering the money GE owes Vivendi.

Time Warner to Spin Off AOL

NEW YORK -- Time Warner announced plans to spin off its troubled AOL Internet unit by the end of the year, bringing to a close one of the most disastrous corporate mergers in history.

The US media-entertainment giant said its board had approved a separation from AOL, formerly known as America Online, to make it an independent, publicly traded company.

"We believe that a separation will be the best outcome for both Time Warner and AOL," Time Warner chairman and chief executive Jeff Bewkes said in a statement.

"We believe AOL will then have a better opportunity to achieve its full potential as a leading independent Internet company."

Time Warner said that before the spin-off goes ahead it will purchase the five percent in AOL owned by Internet search and advertising giant Google, which paid one billion dollars in 2006 for the stake.

Time Warner owns the remaining 95 percent of AOL, which saw its heyday as a provider of dial-up service in the early days of the Internet but has been losing ground as consumers switch to high-speed or broadband services.

AOL is currently the number four Web gateway after Google, Microsoft sites and Yahoo! and has been trying to refashion itself recently as a popular one-stop portal.

End of an Era, ABC Radio
Becomes Citadel Media
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NEW YORK -- Marking the end of an era in network radio, Citadel Broadcasting, owner of ABC Radio Networks, has dropped the heritage network radio name and renamed the network Citadel Media.

The name change was inevitable when Citadel Broadcasting acquired ABC Radio's portfolio of stations and ABC Radio Networks in 2007. And with the passing of the legendary Paul Harvey, who has been associated with the ABC Radio Networks brand for decades, there were probably fewer reasons to keep the name.

While it may be giving up brand recognition, Citadel Media, with 4,400 affiliates reaching 110 million weekly listeners, still represents some of the biggest programming brands in network radio, including ABC News Radio and ESPN Radio, via longterm contracts that were inked during the Citadel/ABC Radio deal.

Citadel Media also has a solid syndication lineup including Kidd Kraddick, Tom Joyner via a partnership with REACH Media, Sean Hannity, via a partnership with Clear Channel-owned Premiere Radio Networks. Recent syndication additions include Mike Huckabee, Perez Hilton, Joe Scarborough, Brian McKnight, Rick Dees and Tom Kent to the Citadel lineup.

 

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Air America Pulls the Plug
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NEW YORK -- Air America, the left-leaning talk radio network, will file for bankruptcy protection and cease broadcasting, Chairman Charlie Kireker announced.

In a memo to employees and a posting on the Air America Web site, Kireker said the network ceased live programming and would cease broadcasting entirely.

"This past year has seen a 'perfect storm' in the media industry generally," Kireker said. "National and local advertising revenues have fallen drastically, causing many media companies nationwide to fold or seek bankruptcy protection."

In the memo, Kireker said radio industry ad revenues have been down for 10 consecutive quarters and the economic downturn has led other broadcasters, including Citadel Broadcasting, and related companies such as the trade publication Radio and Records to declare bankruptcy.

"Those companies that remain are facing audience fragmentation as a result of new media technologies, are often saddled with crushing debt, and have generally found it difficult to obtain operating or investment capital from traditional sources of funding," the memo said. "In this climate, our painstaking search for new investors has come close several times right up into this week, but ultimately fell short of success."

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