More media consolidation?
The world of finance, media and entertainment spent the day debating the likelihood of Comcast buying NBC Universal, as TheWrap reported could happen in an exclusive news break on Wednesday.
Some thought the deal made no sense, others scoffed and then changed their minds a few hours later. On Wall Street, in Hollywood, even in Washington, D.C., the prospect of a multibillion-dollar media deal was the topic around the water cooler.
Here's a roundup of media commentary, analyst quotes and chatter from across the web regarding the Comcast-NBC Universal deal.
"It's not entirely shocking"
"Considering that the cable giant made a bold, unsolicited $54 billion takeover for Disney back in 2004, it's not entirely shocking that Comcast would be interested in NBC Universal." (CNNMoney)
"A Deal of Dubious Logic"
"Business leaders clearly think the world is back to normal: A media company is weighing a deal of dubious logic." (Heard on the Street, WSJ)
"Not what Comcast investors had in mind"
"Investors have long pressed Comcast for an aggressive return of cash to shareholders. An acquisition of a major content studio, even if consummated at an attractive price, is most decidedly not what Comcast investors had in mind." (John Hodulik, UBS analyist via WSJ)
"
Many Obvious Hurdles"
"Comcast's public comments over the past six months have made it clear that their appetite for a content acquisition remains undiminished, so the reports of Comcast's interest in NBCU can be assumed to be credible. Nevertheless, there are many obvious hurdles to a deal, including Comcast's recent comments that they wished neither to issue debt nor equity to finance a transaction." (Craig Moffett, Bernstein analyst )
"A failing joke from the start"
"Comcast can barely provide and deliver their cable TV, internet and phone services. ... For Comcast to get into the content business would be a failing joke from the start." ("hrholmes," comment on Huffington Post)
"When Beaten on a Story, Deride the Source"
"When a business reporter gets beaten on a story -- say, a really big story like (Comcast-NBC Universal) -- his or her response is pretty predictable: Reflexively dismiss the scoop ('Just more of the same -- there's nothing new here' is the common refrain). Deride the source of the scoop (as CNBC's David Faber did with his snarky reference to TheWrap -- the scooper in question -- as 'an Internet entertainment gossip site,' which, of course, it is not). Assure your editor that 'I reported on these talks months ago' ... " (Mark Lacter, LAObserved)
"They can make it very difficult for independents"
“By simply saying ‘No’ to a competing network when it seeks cable carriage, they can leverage their control. Comcast can make it very difficult for independents to start new networks without giving Comcast an ownership interest.”
