So, I’ve been thinking about the merger of Comcast and NBC Universal, and I think I need to spin my analysis out a little here.
On December 3rd, Comcast and NBC Universal officially announced their plans for the cable operator to acquire NBCU from GE in a deal valued at about $30 Billion. NBC has been down the toilet for the last few years, consistently falling into the number 4 category. Jeff Zucker, president and CEO of NBCU, has managed to bring one of the most prestigious media companies of all time to it’s knees in a matter of years. Now we are faced with this… transaction.
I personally see the sale of NBCU to a cable operator as a threat to broadcasting and media distribution. Comcast will have the opportunity to make key decisions from inception through distribution, and this means (possibly) a major shift in the paradigm of screen-based entertainment. One problem is that they could choose to proprietize films out of Universal Studios so that they were only available via Comcast’s cable products. While this is a good way for them to drum up “competition” (it is my experience that when it comes to cable, there really is no competition), it reminds me of the days when the studios each owned their own theatres, and those theatres only screened the films made by that studio (i.e. Paramount Theatres only showed films made by Paramount Pictures).
Another problem I see with this merger is that it opens the door for even MORE media conglomeration, which has only proven to stifle creativity, downsize industry infrastructure, and put people out of work. I would NOT want CBS to be merged with a distribution system, (i.e. Verizon or AT&T) because it would constrict our ability to compete by give us an additional level of bureaucracy to wade through. There are already so many barriers we cannot cross: the FCC’s Rules, the Christian right (incl. irritants like Focus on the Family), the advertisers demands, the expectations of our demographic (which is decidedly old at this point). I think that if it were CBS being merged, it would risk our ratings, and thus our livelihood. I know NBC’s ratings are in the gutter, but the possibility of dragging them down any further seems like it would pose serious problems to the affliates and thus the network as a whole.
Then there is the potential of NBC becoming a cable net. This is a scary thing, (even though they denied that they have any intention of shutting down the affiliates), because if the trend of converting free OTA broadcast networks to cable could mean the demise of the big four entirely, in rather a short amount of time. There is no guarantee that the peacock wold do any better that any other cable channel if it were converted over, but right now as a network it’s operating budget, it’s infrastructure, and it’s overhead are MUCH larger than a cable channel. Conversion would result in job loss, and the destruction of at least one source of free entertainment (and, more importantly, local news/information). It poses a risk by suggesting that OTA broadcasting is no longer needed, when this is certainly not the case.
As far as I know, the NAB has not stood up against this merger, most likely because they don’t want to end p on the bad side of two of te largest media conglomerates in the country. Apparntly the FCC is taking complaints / comments into consideration before approving the merger. Perhaps if enough people chime in against this mess, it’ll be denied, and we can just put it all behind us; at least for a while.
Lastly, although I do not like the idea of the Comcast/NBC Universal merger, I acknowledge that in all likelihood it WILL eventually happen. I have two reactions to this: first to warn you- enjoy what you have for now, ’cause it’s going to start changing sometime soon; and second, that it scares the hell out of me, because I was taught a system, and to venture into the great unknown– well, when it comes to how you make a living, that just isn’t fun.
Yours,
Evan
Links to (some of) my sources for this post:
