NBC Universal - Comcast Merger

I look forward to the day when there is just one big media company with one long name NBCUniversalComcastTimeWarnerDisneyParamountDreamWorksVivendiSony. (30 Rock makes great hay out of how NBC is owned by GE. They will remain 49% owned by GE, so hopefully the jokes will keep coming.)

G.E. Agrees to Sell NBC to Comcast - NYTimes.com

So what's the value of a major movie studio / major t.v. network? Just $30B. Even though Comcast didn't pay the full amount, they were able to come up with cash and prizes to equal 51% of it. That's a statement of how unbalanced the cable market is. (Each local company is a monopoly.) They have so much excess profit, they are able to buy a majority of one the big studios. Remember that next time you pay your cable bill.