The Meter Is Running, but Comcast Says NBC U Deal Will Be Done by End of Year

Comcast says it’s on track to close the NBC Universal deal by the end of the year. Which is good, because closing the transaction–where it picks up control of GE’s (GE) media conglomerate–has cost it $88 million so far this year.

Those costs dinged the cable company’s second quarter earnings, but if you net those out, the company generated 33 cents a share, a penny higher than the Street’s expectations. Revenue rose 6.1 percent, to $9.53 billion, versus the $9.3 billion analysts were looking for. If you’re tracking the ad market, there’s more good news here: Ad revenue for Comcast’s (CMCSA) cable and programming units was up more than 20 percent.

I’m listening to the earnings call now and will update if there’s anything particularly interesting.