Comcast pull gun advertising

[Utah Bob]

While you're writing to legislators, drop a line to Commiecast! Especially if you're a customer.
Full Article

I'm wondering.....will they cancel all gun related shows? Hmmmm. I bet not.

Gun shop owners are miffed that Comcast has decided to stop accepting firearms-related ads on its nationwide cable television network.

Tom Wright, owner of Williams Gun Sight in Davison, Mich., said he'll take his advertising business elsewhere.

"I thought it was ridiculous; we are a legitimate business, we have been here for 80 years," he told ABC12.

Wright said Comcast last week rejected his request through an ad agency to rerun a 30-second ad — a spot that it ran last fall — on local cable television.

"Obviously, this is an attempt on the part of Comcast to help promote an anti-gun agenda," the gun accessories company said on its Facebook page. "Williams is encouraging all of our customers and friends to voice your concerns directly with your local Comcast provider and consider cancelling your subscription."

Eric Elliott of VIP Marketing told The Post and Courier of Charleston, S.C., that he wanted to buy local spots on the night of Feb. 12, coinciding with the presidential State of the Union address, to advertise "ladies night" at the ATP Gunshop and Range in Summerville, S.C. He said he was informed by Comcast that the ads would not be accepted due to the new policy.

[Sigaba]

Source is here.

FEBRUARY 12, 2013, 4:54 PM
Comcast Buys Rest of NBC in Early Sale

By AMY CHOZICK and BRIAN STELTER
9:28 a.m. | Updated Comcast gave NBCUniversal a $16.7 billion vote of confidence on Tuesday, agreeing to pay that sum to acquire General Electric's remaining 49 percent stake in the entertainment company. The deal accelerated a sales process that was expected to take several more years.

Brian Roberts, chief executive of Comcast, said the acquisition, which will be completed by the end of March, underscored a commitment to NBCUniversal and its highly profitable cable channels, expanding theme parks and the resurgent NBC broadcast network.

"We always thought it was a strong possibility that we'd some day own 100 percent," Mr. Roberts said in a telephone interview.

He added that the rapidly changing television business and the growing necessity of owning content as well as the delivery systems sped up the decision. "It's been a very smooth couple of years, and the content continues to get more valuable with new revenue streams," he said.

Comcast also said that NBCUniversal would buy the NBC studios and offices at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, as well as the CNBC headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J. Those transactions will cost about $1.4 billion.

Mr. Roberts called the Rockefeller Plaza offices "iconic" and said it would have been "expensive to replicate" studios elsewhere for the "Today" show, "Saturday Night Live," "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" and other programs produced there. "We're proud to be associated with it," Mr. Roberts said of the building.

With the office space comes naming rights for the building, according to a General Electric spokeswoman. So it is possible that one of New York's most famous landmarks, with its giant red G.E. sign, could soon be displaying a Comcast sign instead.

When asked about a possible logo swap on the building, owned by Tishman Speyer, Mr. Roberts told CNBC, that is "not something we're focused on talking about today." Nevertheless, the sale was visible in a prominent way Tuesday night: the G.E. letters, which have adorned the top of 30 Rock for several decades, were not illuminated for an hour after sunset. But the lights flickered back on later in the evening.

Comcast, with a conservative, low-profile culture, had clashed with the G.E. approach, according to employees and executives in television. Comcast moved NBCUniversal's executive offices from the 52nd floor to the 51st floor - less opulent space that features smaller executive offices and a cozy communal coffee room instead of General Electric's lavish executive dining room.

Comcast took control of NBCUniversal in early 2011 by acquiring 51 percent of the media company from General Electric. The structure of the deal gave Comcast the option of buying out G.E. in a three-and-a-half to seven-year time frame. In part because of the clash in corporate cultures, television executives said, both sides were eager to accelerate the sale.

Price was also a factor. Mr. Roberts said he believed the stake would have cost more had Comcast waited. Also, he pointed to the company's strong fourth-quarter earnings to be released late Tuesday afternoon, which put it in a strong position to complete the sale.

Comcast reported a near record-breaking year with $20 billion in operating cash flow in the fiscal year 2012. In the three months that ended Dec. 31, Comcast's cash flow increased 7.3 percent to $5.3 billion. Revenue at NBCUniversal grew 4.8 percent to $6 billion.

"We've had two years to make the transition and to make the investments that we believe will continue to take off," Mr. Roberts said.

The transactions with General Electric will be largely financed with $11.4 billion of cash on hand, $4 billion of subsidiary senior unsecured notes to be issued to G.E. and a $2 billion in borrowings.

Even with the investment in NBCUniversal, Comcast said it would increase its dividend by 20 percent to 78 cents a share and buy back $2 billion in stock in 2013.

When it acquired the 51 percent stake two years ago, Comcast committed to paying about $6.5 billion in cash and contributed all of its cable channels, including E! and some regional sports networks, to the newly established NBCUniversal joint venture. Those channels were valued at $7.25 billion.

The transaction made Comcast, the single biggest cable provider in the United States, one of the biggest owners of cable channels, too. NBCUniversal operates the NBC broadcast network, 10 local NBC stations, USA, Bravo, Syfy, E!, MSNBC, CNBC, the NBC Sports Network, Telemundo, Universal Pictures, Universal Studios, and a long list of other media brands.

Mr. Roberts and Michael J. Angelakis, vice chairman and chief financial officer for the Comcast Corporation, led the negotiations that began last year with Jeffrey R. Immelt, chief executive of General Electric, and Keith Sharon, the company's chief financial officer. JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Centerview Partners and CBRE provided financial and strategic advice.

The sale ends a long relationship between General Electric and NBC that goes back before the founding days of television. In 1926, the Radio Corporation of America created the NBC network. General Electric owned R.C.A. until 1930. It regained control of R.C.A., including NBC, in 1986, in a deal worth $6.4 billion at the time.

In a slide show on the company's "GE Reports" Web site titled "It's a Wrap: GE, NBC Part Ways, Together They've Changed History," G.E. said the deal with Comcast "caps a historic, centurylong journey for the two companies that gave birth to modern home entertainment."

Mr. Immelt has said that NBCUniversal did not mesh with G.E.'s core industrial businesses. That became even more apparent when the company became a minority stakeholder with no control over how the business was run, according to a person briefed on G.E.'s thinking who could not discuss private conversations publicly.

"By adding significant new capital to our balanced capital allocation plan, we can accelerate our share buyback plans while investing in growth in our core businesses," Mr. Immelt said in a statement. He added: "For nearly 30 years, NBC - and later NBCUniversal - has been a great business for G.E. and our investors."

This post has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: February 18, 2013


Because of an editing error, an article on Wednesday about Comcast's acquisition of the rest of NBCUniversal from General Electric misstated part of the address of NBC's studios and offices in Manhattan. They are at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, not 30 Rockefeller Center.

MOO, Comcast is making a business decision as part of its broader plan to increase its footprint.

If Comcast wants to push an "anti gun" agenda, it will do so via programming decisions, not advertising.

YMMV.

[koz]

So being stuck in a Comcast cable area, between Dish Network and DirecTv, which is better?

[Utah Bob]

I had Dish and dropped them several years ago for Directv. Very satisfied with them.
No cable this far out in the wildeness.

[Sdiver]

Originally Posted by koz

So being stuck in a Comcast cable area, between Dish Network and DirecTv, which is better?

I've had DirectTV for the past four years and have been very happy with them.
Great customer service when needed and product upgrades as they come out.
I have it bundled with my internet, so I get a bit of a break cost wise on both.

[longrange1947]

I have had Direct TV for quite a few years, as in the 90s. I am more than satisfied, I dumped cable after missing a days work waiting on a no show, that was in the early 90s when Direct TV could be bought in Radio Shack. I installed it myself and have had no problems with the company. Their service support has been great, just called them as I thought the remote had died. The guy walked me through a couple of checks, re-entered two codes and it worked.

He then emailed me a check list to use to check my remote and receiver DVRs.

Don't know about Dish, but do know their advertising is somewhat sketchy.

[Roguish Lawyer]

DirecTV is great

[nousdefions]

Originally Posted by Roguish Lawyer

DirecTV is great

I agree.

The last time the cable guy showed up, I went outside while he was on the roof. I kicked down the ladder and told him I had to go the the store and would be back between the hours of 5 and 9 pm.

[Badger52]

Originally Posted by nousdefions

The last time the cable guy showed up, I went outside while he was on the roof. I kicked down the ladder and told him I had to go the the store and would be back between the hours of 5 and 9 pm.

LMAO!

[Streck-Fu]

I have been considering getting rid of Comcast for a while now but have a hard time determining the actual cost of use after the trial period pricing ends.
How expensive is it really after the first year?

Why I have not left Comcast is because as soon as my special pricing period ends, I call and they give me whatever discounts are available at the time. Usually good for at least a year.

And how is their internet service?

Thanks

[FlagDayNCO]

We have Commicast and they have the Internet as part of the package. Seeing the responses here about DirectTV, and they have web access, will be the future. NBC and Comcast pulled several weapons shows after Sandy Hook. Most were on a sports channel that NBC took over, but I noticed Comcast did the same thing.

FDNCO

[SF18C]

Channel 240 on DISH...all guns all day!

[Streck-Fu]

Seeing the responses here about DirectTV, and they have web access, will be the future.

They have partners that provide internet. Other companies like AT&T and if I'm stuck with AT&T in this area, I won't use it.

I'd probably have to use Comcast for ISP along with DTV and that pricing is counter productive.

[Sigaba]

Source is here.

The transaction made Comcast, the single biggest cable provider in the United States, one of the biggest owners of cable channels, too. NBCUniversal operates the NBC broadcast network, 10 local NBC stations, USA, Bravo, Syfy, E!, MSNBC, CNBC, the NBC Sports Network, Telemundo, Universal Pictures, Universal Studios, and a long list of other media brands.

Does it matter which company provides your cable/satellite feed if your money is still going to pay for services (broadcast and cable channels) that Comcast owns, content (programs/shows) that Comcast airs, or buy products that Comcast advertises (through commercials and product placement)?

[MR2]

Too big to fail just means too big to exist.