NBC Spent $195 Million To Buy Back MSNBC

According to a 10-K filing that Comcast filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, we have learned that NBCUniversal spent $195 million to buy back 50% of MSNBC.com from Microsoft.  The $195 million was covered with $100 million in cash and cash equivalents held at MSNBC.com that were acquired in the transaction.  The deal was signed this past July and NBCU redirected visitors from MSNBC.com to NBCNews.com.  NBCU also brought in the employees from MSNBC.com under their wing.  The purchase price valued MSNBC.com at about $500 million.

Comcast Is Paying $16.7 Billion For Remaining Stake In NBCUniversal

Comcast announced this week that they will be buying the remaining stake in NBCUniversal for $16.7 billion.  Comcast also released their Q4 earnings and they have announced a 20% increase in its dividend along with a $2 billion stock repurchase plan.

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Dunder Mifflin Is Crowdsourcing Their Super Bowl Ad

You may know Dunder Mifflin as the paper company that the characters in The Office work for.  You may be surprised to hear that Dunder Mifflin is a real company.  That company is actually crowdsourcing their first Super Bowl ad too.  However that Super Bowl ad will only air in Scranton, Pennsylvania — the same city that The Office is based in.

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Jeff Zucker To Become President Of CNN In January

Jeff Zucker will become the president of CNN Worldwide, starting in January.  Zucker will be responsible for helping increase the ratings.  CNN’s ratings have not been doing so hot, but they still reach over 2 billion people across 200 countries.  Zucker will report to Turner Broadcasting CEO Phil Kent and he will be based in New York.

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NBC Talking With Microsoft To Acquire Full Stake In MSNBC.com

NBCUniversal is currently in talks with Microsoft Corporation to acquire the full stake in MSNBC.com. NBC News spokeswoman Amy Lynn confirmed that conversations are taking place between both companies. Microsoft and NBC started MSNBC in 1996 to create a 24-hour news channel and website. NBC acquired the news channel in 2005, but the website remained a joint venture. Comcast acquired NBC Universal in January 2011.

Hulu Offers Buyers 5 Years of Content Access

Hulu is still looking for a buyer, and the potential buyers are still looking for some promises of future content access before they make any moves. Hulu has stepped forward with a promise of 5 years of content, two years of which will be exclusive, from Disney, News Corp. and NBC. [Bloomberg]

Comcast Allowed To Acquire NBC, But Not Control Hulu

The federal government is allowing Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) to merge with NBC, but there are limitations. Comcast will not be allowed to sabotage Hulu.com when buying NBC. Comcast’s acquisition of NBC was worth about $30 billion. Media industry executives were interested to see how Comcast would influence Hulu.com. NBC Universal helped create Hulu and owns about 30% of the website.
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