11 posts and columns on NBC U

News Byte

NBC Digital Exec JB Perrette Leaves

in Media on April 27, 2011 at 2:39 pm PT

Comcast is still shuffling executives in the wake of its NBCUniversal merger. The latest is Jean-Briac (JB) Perrette, who at one point headed up digital distribution for NBC and was bumped up to a larger distribution role in 2009. Perrette was also one of NBC’s reps on Hulu’s board of directors, back before it gave them up as a merger concession. Deadline.com first reported on Perrette’s departure. An NBCU statement praised Perrette and wished him well.

Want to Cut Your Cord? The NBC U-Comcast Deal Won't Make It Easier

in Media on January 18, 2011 at 2:47 pm PT

If you were hoping that the government restrictions on the NBC U-Comcast deal would make it easier for you to stop paying for cable, you’re out of luck. The government is forcing the new company to offer its stuff to online outlets like Netflix and iTunes. But it won’t happen in the way that cord cutters would like. If it happens at all.

News Byte

Comcast Won't Get NBC U in Time for Christmas, or New Year's Either

in Media on December 22, 2010 at 12:14 pm PT

Comcast won’t be able to wrap its deal with GE for NBC Universal this month, both companies announced today. Instead, they’re shooting for a January close, when they hope to get final approval from Washington. Given that this one stretches back to the fall of 2009, it’s hard to argue that a few weeks of extra legal bills will matter that much.

Exclusive: Comcast's Top Digital Exec Amy Banse to Open New Silicon Valley Equity Fund for Cable Giant and NBC

in News on November 15, 2010 at 12:09 am PT

Amy Banse, currently the president of Comcast Interactive Media, is shifting into a job as head of a new Silicon Valley-based equity fund aimed at making digital investments for the television cable giant, as well as its new NBC Universal unit, according to sources with knowledge of the plans. As part of the shift, sources said, Banse will be charged with combining two existing corporate investment funds: NBC U’s Peacock Equity and Comcast Interactive Capital.

Meet the New Boss: What's on Steve Burke's Mind as He Takes Over NBC U?

in Media on September 26, 2010 at 1:55 pm PT

No surprise that Comcast COO Steve Burke would be taking the reins at NBC Universal after the cable company swallowed it up–even though Comcast insisted that wouldn’t be the case. “Jeff Zucker is going to be CEO of the entity,” Burke told BoomTown’s Kara Swisher in June in an onstage interview at the eighth D: All Things Digital conference. Here’s more from that chat.

Netflix Adds "Saturday Night Live," "Battlestar Galactica," More NBC U Shows to Web Service

in Media on September 24, 2010 at 6:02 am PT

This could make a Web-only offering from Netflix that much more appealing: The movie service has signed an expanded rights deal with NBC Universal. The deal gives Netflix Web access to a long list of NBC U shows, from broadcast–every episode of “Saturday Night Live,” to cable–like Syfy’s awesome “Battlestar Galactica.”

Exclusive: Comcast Reshuffles Its Digital Deck Before NBC Comes Aboard

in Media on September 21, 2010 at 11:32 am PT

Comcast hasn’t finished acquiring NBC Universal yet. But it is already shuffling some of its digital leadership ahead of the deal’s close. Current digital boss Amy Banse will end up with a new gig, and her lieutenant Matt Strauss gets a promotion.

NBC U's Okay Quarter Just Fine for GE

in Media on July 16, 2010 at 6:12 am PT

GE doesn’t really care much about NBC Universal, which is why it’s happy to hand it off to Comcast once regulators sign off. But for the record, the cable/broadcast/movie conglomerate posted an okay quarter: Revenues were up five percent and operating profit was up 13 percent, the company said this morning.

QOTD

We’ve never told anyone they can’t lower prices. We’re glad to have NBC back and they are participating under the same terms with all of the other content providers.”

– Apple VP Eddy Cue says that NBC Universal’s iron will ended up being quite a bit more flexible than the flexible iTunes pricing scheme it claims to have won from Apple

NBC's iTunes Pricing Flexible, Just Like Jeff Zucker's Memory

in News on September 9, 2008 at 4:05 pm PT

Nearly a year after being eighty-sixed from Apple’s iTunes store over a pricing dispute, NBC Universal is returning to the service, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced Tuesday. It’s not entirely clear what led to the warming of relations between the two companies, though NBCU CEO Jeff Zucker said it was a concession from Apple that brought NBCU back to iTunes.

NBC’s iTunes Pricing Flexible, Just Like Jeff Zucker’s Memory

in News, September 9, 2008 at 4:05 pm PT