tool name
closeBroadcast pioneer NBC prepares for cable takeover
By DAVID BAUDER
- The Associated PressNEW YORK — Eight decades after pioneering the concept of broadcasting, NBC is on the verge of a startling move that illustrates broadcast television's decline.
Cable TV operator Comcast Corp. is expected to buy a controlling stake in NBC Universal, perhaps as early as this week. That would bring the network of Johnny Carson, Jerry Seinfeld, Bob Hope, Milton Berle and Tom Brokaw under the corporate control of the company that owns the Golf Channel and E! Entertainment Television.
By owning more content, Comcast further hedges its bets as mainly a distributor of shows. That's in case viewers ditch their cable TV subscriptions and migrate to the Internet, mobile devices or a platform that has yet to emerge. The company could charge for the shows or sell ads wherever the viewers are.
In a sense, NBC would become a pioneer again, as it seeks to stay relevant amid intensifying audience fragmentation.
In Print
@Nyx.CommentBody@