Comcast Left Bitter Taste

Comcast,the cable TV and broadband titan,alienated several customers on its way to the top.The company,which recently acquired a majority stake in NBC Universal from General Electric and Vivendi SA,consistently whittled away at its expanded basic tier of cable TV channels.It cut the NASA TV channel from the expanded basic lineup.Then it axed Retirement Living TV from the package.It also sheared off EWTN,the Catholic channel.Most recently,Comcast eliminated Maryland Public Television from expanded basic.
All the while it was depriving thousands of viewers of stimulating options,Comcast raised prices.The subscribers got less than what they originally signed up for,at a higher price.The taste of Comcast will not be on their favorite flavors list.Presumably the only reason Comcast hasn't eliminated expanded basic entirely is the political heat it would feel from local franchising authorities,should they dare to do so.No wonder these marginalized customers,many of them seniors,aren't cheering Comcast's recent success.

Vivendi Holds the Key

French communications firm Vivendi SA holds the balance of power over General Electric and Comcast at this point.The conglomerate has the final say on whether Comcast can acquire NBC Universal from GE.The decision will be handed down within three weeks,according to Vivendi Chief Financial Officer Philippe Capron.Vivendi owns 20% of NBC-U,and must sell its stake to GE,if the deal is to go forward.Mr.Capron said they are not there yet.
Through its various holdings,Vivendi is number one in video games and music worldwide;number two in France telecom;number one in Morocco telecom;and number one in Pay-TV France.It owns 56% of video gamer Activision Blizzard and 100% of Universal Music Group.The Parisian firm is led by CEO Jean-Bernard Levy.
Receiving a journalism award at Arizona State University,NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams said nothing about the deal.He did mention that NBC News viewership is up from where it was last year,however.GE's decision to sell NBC-U has been cited by some observers as a sign of the fading away of broadcast television.
Vivendi shares trade on the over the counter pink sheets.Their ticker symbol is VIVEF.