Comcast doubles down on TV in $16.7B deal for NBCU [View all]

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By RYAN NAKASHIMA and MICHAEL LIEDTKE

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Comcast's $16.7 billion deal to buy the remaining half of NBCUniversal ahead of schedule represents a resounding vote of confidence in the future of TV, even as the growth of Internet video reshapes the entertainment landscape.

The decision was driven largely by Comcast Corp. (CMCSK)'s belief that it would end up paying substantially more for General Electric Co. (GE)'s remaining 49 percent stake if it had waited until 2018, as had been envisioned in 2011 when the cable TV provider acquired majority control of NBCUniversal.

"We didn't have to do this now, we chose to do it," Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said in a Wednesday morning interview on CNBC. "We're bullish on the businesses we're buying."

The late Tuesday announcement sent shares of both companies up. Comcast was up 8 percent and GE added 3 percent in premarket trading Wednesday.

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Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20130213/DA4DOSLO2.html

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In this Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012 file photo, the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is lit during the 80th annual tree lighting ceremony at Rockefeller Center in New York. Comcast said Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013, that it's buying General Electric's 49 percent stake in the NBCUniversal joint venture for $16.7 billion several years early, as the company takes advantage of low borrowing costs and what CEO Brian Roberts called a "very attractive price.&quot AP Photo/Kathy Willens)