Comcast NBC Deal Just the Start of Change?

The announcement of the long-anticipated Comcast deal to acquire NBC Universal could signal the start of significant shifts in ownership and structure in the entertainment industry. Although the focus of commentary is on television entertainment, there could be intrigue for related categories such as DVD rental and internet video services.

Comcast, as leading cable provider, benefits from greater use of video on demand access to movies. Now, with the firm in control of a large content portfolio, will it move to restrict access to its content in other channels? How will the newly acquired content be distributed on the internet?

NBC Universal owns a third of Hulu, the increasingly popular - and for now, free - online service which allows viewers to access television content via the web. Comcast is a major stakeholder in the TV Everywhere initiative, which takes a different approach to television content online. Essentially, the TV Everywhere model only allows paying cable or satellite customers access to the content.

In a conference call with investors about the NBC deal, Comcast indicated that TV Everywhere is complementary to Hulu, with cable content to be available on TV Everywhere and broadcast content on Hulu. It sounds nice and logical, but it may not fly with the other partners in Hulu: News Corp. and Disney. Hulu is projecting a $33 million loss in 2009, so some change in business model is to be expected.

This evolution is in its early stages, so expect more news as we roll into 2010.