NBCUniversal | |
Formerly | NBC Universal, Inc. (2004–2011) |
Company type | Division |
Industry | |
Predecessors | |
Founded | May 11, 2004 |
Headquarters | Comcast Building, , U.S. |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people |
|
Products | |
Services | |
Revenue | US$39.2 billion (2022) |
Number of employees | 35,000 (2020) |
Parent |
|
Divisions | |
Subsidiaries | Fandango Media (75%) |
Website | nbcuniversal |
Footnotes /references [1] [2] [3] [4] |
NBCUniversal Media, LLC (abbreviated as NBCU and doing business as NBCUniversal or Comcast NBCUniversal since 2013) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. [5] It is primarily involved in the media and entertainment industry, and is named for its two most significant divisions—the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), one of the United States' Big Three television networks, and Universal Pictures, one of the major Hollywood film studios.
It also has a significant presence in broadcasting through a portfolio of domestic and international properties, including USA, Syfy, Bravo, Oxygen, E!, Telemundo, Universal Kids, Golf Channel, CNBC, Universo, the streaming service Peacock and ownership stakes in Snap Inc. and Vox Media. Via its Universal Destinations & Experiences division, NBCUniversal is also the third-largest operator of amusement parks in the world. [6] Since 2018, its sister company under Comcast's control, Sky Group, holds its media and telecommunications assets alongside Xfinity.
NBCUniversal was formed on May 11, 2004, as NBC Universal, Inc., when Vivendi sold 80% of Universal Pictures to the now-defunct General Electric, NBC's then-owner. [7] [8] The sale gave Vivendi a 20% stake in NBC Universal, while GE held the remaining 80%. Comcast attained 51% and thereby control of the newly reformed NBCUniversal in 2011, by purchasing shares from GE, while GE bought out Vivendi’s stake. Since 2013, the company has been fully owned by Comcast, which bought the remaining 49% of the company from GE. [9]
1912 | Universal Pictures is founded |
---|---|
1926 | NBC is founded |
1928 | Walter Lantz Productions is established |
1943 | MCA Inc. establishes Revue Studios (later Universal Television) |
1953 | NBC begins first compatible color broadcasts, preceding other networks by nine years |
1963 | American Cable Systems is founded |
1964 | Universal Studios Hollywood opens |
1967 | NBC broadcasts the first Super Bowl |
1968 | American Cable Systems rebrands to Comcast |
1972 | Comcast began trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) |
1975 | Filmworks is founded |
1976 | Filmworks becomes Casablanca Record & Filmworks |
1980 | PolyGram renames Casablanca Record & Filmworks to PolyGram Pictures MCA Videocassette‚ Inc. (later Universal Pictures Home Entertainment) is established |
1983 | PolyGram Pictures closes |
1984 | Walter Lantz Productions' assets are sold to Universal Telemundo is founded |
1986 | General Electric re-purchases its former subsidiary RCA for $6.4 billion, including NBC and a stake in A&E |
1987 | PolyGram Movies is founded |
1989 | NBC relaunches Tempo Television as CNBC |
1990 | Universal Studios Florida opens Law & Order premieres on NBC PolyGram Movies is renamed PolyGram Filmed Entertainment Sky Television and British Satellite Broadcasting merge to form British Sky Broadcasting Universal Cartoon Studios (later Universal Animation Studios) is established |
1993 | Homicide: Life on the Street premieres on NBC Universal releases Jurassic Park |
1994 | DreamWorks Animation is founded |
1995 | Seagram acquires Universal through its acquisition of MCA NBC and Microsoft replace America's Talking with MSNBC Barry Diller purchases Universal's domestic television assets |
1998 | Seagram acquires PolyGram Filmed Entertainment Universal Television is renamed Studios USA Television |
1999 | PolyGram Filmed Entertainment is folded into Universal Pictures Universal Studios Florida expands to become Universal Orlando Resort Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premieres on NBC |
2000 | Seagram is sold to Vivendi and merged with StudioCanal to become Vivendi Universal Entertainment |
2001 | Grand opening of Universal Studios Japan Vivendi purchases Studios USA |
2002 | NBC acquires Telemundo and Bravo Studios USA assets are folded into Universal Focus Features is formed Comcast acquires AT&T Broadband for $44.5 billion |
2004 | GE and Vivendi merge NBC and Universal into NBCUniversal |
2005 | The Office premieres on NBC Comcast sets up a joint-venture with PBS, Sesame Workshop & HIT Entertainment to form PBS Kids Sprout Comcast & Time Warner Cable jointly acquire Adelphia Cable assets for $17.6 billion |
2007 | Illumination is founded |
2010 | Universal releases Illumination's first film Despicable Me |
2011 | Vivendi divested in NBCU; Comcast buys 51% of NBCU from GE, turning it into a limited liability company NBCUniversal Archives is founded |
2012 | Universal celebrates its 100th anniversary NBCUniversal divests its A&E Networks minority stake |
2013 | Comcast buys GE's remaining 49% of NBCU Comcast/NBCU assumes full ownership of Sprout |
2014 | Comcast attempts to acquire Time Warner Cable for $45.2 billion NBCUniversal reaches a new long-term deal with WWE |
2016 | NBCU acquires DreamWorks Animation |
2017 | Sprout relaunches as Universal Kids |
2018 | Comcast acquires Sky from 21st Century Fox |
2019 | NBCU acquires Cineo Lighting |
2020 | NBCU launches Peacock |
2025 | NBCUniversal annouces the closure of Universal Kids |
NBC and Universal Television had a partnership dating back to 1950, when Universal Television's earliest ancestor, Revue Studios, produced a number of shows for NBC, although Revue would have hits on other networks as well. This partnership continued throughout a number of name changes and changes of ownership.
NBC Universal Television has its modern roots in a series of expansions undertaken by NBC. In the late 1980s, NBC began pursuing a strategy of diversification, including the formation of two NBC-owned cable-television networks: CNBC and America's Talking. NBC also had partial ownership of several regional sports channels and other cable channels such as American Movie Classics and Court TV (until 2007).
In 1995, NBC began operating NBC Desktop Video, a financial news service that delivered live video to personal computers. The following year, NBC announced an agreement with Microsoft to create an all-news cable television channel, MSNBC (using its subscriber base from America's Talking network). A separate joint venture with Microsoft included establishing a news website, MSNBC.com (now NBCNews.com). [10]
In 1998, NBC partnered with Dow Jones & Co. [11] The two companies combined their financial news channels outside the United States. The new networks included NBC Europe, CNBC Europe, NBC Asia, CNBC Asia, NBC Africa, and CNBC Africa.
In 1999, NBC took a 32% stake in the Paxson group, operator of PAX TV. Five years later, NBC decided to sell its interest in PAX TV and end its relationship with PAX owner, Paxson Communications. [12]
In 2001, NBC acquired the US Spanish-language broadcaster Telemundo, that includes the bilingual Mun2 Television for $1.98 billion. [13] That same year NBC acquired the cable channel Bravo.
In 2004, amid a major financial crisis caused by over-expansion, Universal Studios' parent company, Vivendi Universal Entertainment (a division of the French company Vivendi, which also owned Blizzard Entertainment), decided to sell an 80% stake of itself to NBC's parent company, General Electric (GE). The sale and resulting merger formed NBC Universal. The new company was 80% owned by GE, and 20% owned by Vivendi. [14] The joint venture encompassed Vivendi's US film interests (such as Universal Pictures), NBC Universal Television Studio, NBC Universal Television Distribution, production and distribution units, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Consumer Products Group, Back Lot Music (formerly NBC Records), as well as five theme parks, cable television channels including USA Network, Sci-Fi Channel, the defunct Trio, Cloo (formerly Sleuth) as well as 50% stakes in Canal+ and StudioCanal. The Universal Music Group was not included in the deal and is not part of NBC Universal. [15]
On August 2, 2004, the television divisions of NBC and Universal Television were combined to form NBC Universal Television. NBC Studios series brought into the company include the NBC dramas Las Vegas (with DreamWorks Television), Crossing Jordan , and American Dreams . Universal Network Television brought the Law & Order franchise and The District —in fact, Universal Network Television had co-produced American Dreams with NBC before the merger. Universal Television Distribution shows also brought into company include Jerry Springer and Maury . Entertainment shows produced by the new group include The Tonight Show with Jay Leno , Late Night with Jimmy Fallon , Last Call with Carson Daly , and Saturday Night Live .
The formation of NBC Universal saw the establishment of NBC Universal Cable, which oversees the distribution, marketing, and advertisement sales for thirteen channels (Bravo, Bravo HD+ (eventually renamed Universal HD), Chiller, CNBC, CNBC World, MSNBC, NBC Universo, Syfy, ShopNBC (which became ShopHQ after NBCUniversal sold its stake in the network), Telemundo, Cloo, USA Network, and the Olympic Games on cable). NBC Universal Cable also manages the company's investments in The Weather Channel and TiVo. The cable division also used to operate NBC Weather Plus until 2008. It also owned a 50% stake in Canal+ and also owned a 15% stake in A+E Networks until 2012. [16]
In the early 1990s, NBC began its expansion throughout Europe by creating CNBC Europe and its long-time successful NBC Europe Superstation by broadcasting NBC Giga throughout Germany and the rest of the European Union. NBC Europe helped to develop the Leipzig-based Games Convention, the largest European video game exposition with more than 100,000 visitors each year.
In 2005, NBC Universal joined HANA, the High-Definition Audio-Video Network Alliance to help establish standards in consumer electronics interoperability. Later that year, NBC Universal announced a partnership with Apple Computer to offer shows from all the NBC Universal TV networks on Apple's iTunes Store. [17]
In January 2006, NBC Universal launched a new cable channel, Sleuth. The channel's programming dedicated to mystery/crime genre. Sleuth Network's initial slogan was "Mystery. Crime. All The Time." In early 2008, the channel unveiled a new slogan, "Get Clued In." On August 15, 2011, Sleuth rebranded as Cloo, in order to be able to trademark and own the name, as NBCUniversal cannot so with the name Clue (as Hasbro owns the rights to it with its board game Clue). NBCUniversal also explained that another reason for the name change was the word "Sleuth" is too common for search engines (a Google search brings up over 9,530,000 results). [18] [19]
One year later after Sleuth's debut, NBC Universal announced that the company would launch a horror-themed cable channel, Chiller, on March 1, 2007. At launch Chiller would be available exclusively on DirecTV. The network would feature films like Psycho and The Shining and TV series that include Twin Peaks , Alfred Hitchcock Presents , Freddy's Nightmares , Friday the 13th: The Series , War of the Worlds and Tales from the Crypt . NBC Universal also stated that, aside from the content in its own vaults, Chiller will feature content from other studios as well. In 2009, Chiller unveiled a new slogan, "scary good". This replaced the channel's previous slogan "Dare To Watch".
On June 14, 2007, NBC Universal Television Studio was renamed Universal Media Studios. The company explained that the reason for the name change was because "the new name fully describes the company's mission to be the premier content provider for television and digital platforms, spanning all television dayparts and creative genres." [20]
In August 2007, NBC Universal purchased Sparrowhawk Media Group and renamed it NBC Universal Global Networks. [21] This acquisition gave NBC Universal all Hallmark channels outside the United States, plus the English channels Diva TV, Movies 24, Hallmark Channel and KidsCo. [22] Later that fall, the company also acquired the Oxygen network in a separate $925 million deal. [23] The sale was completed one month later.
In the summer of 2008, NBC Universal, Blackstone Group and Bain Capital announced their intentions to buy The Weather Channel from Landmark Communications. The deal closed on September 12, 2008. [24] Shortly after the acquisition completed, NBC announced that its existing TV weather network, NBC Weather Plus, would be shut down by December 31, 2008.
In July 2008, Universal Cable Productions split off from Universal Media Studios and moved into NBCUniversal's NBCU Cable Entertainment division. [25]
The summer of 2008 marked NBC Universal's first venture into the United Kingdom by acquiring English television production company Carnival Films. [26]
On November 12, 2008, NBC Universal acquired 80.1% of Geneon Entertainment from Dentsu in Japan, merging it with Universal Pictures International Entertainment to form a new company, [27] Geneon Universal Entertainment Japan. [28]
On March 16, 2009, NBC Universal-owned cable channel Sci Fi announced that it would be changing its name to Syfy, replacing a generic term with a proprietary brand name that was able to be trademarked. [29] The re-branding and name change took place on July 7, 2009. [29] [30]
On August 27, 2009, A&E Television Networks (A&E) merged with Lifetime Entertainment Services (Lifetime), [31] [32] giving NBC Universal an equal share of both Lifetime and A&E with The Walt Disney Company and Hearst.
On October 20, 2010, NBC Universal-owned horror/suspense-themed cable channel Chiller announced a major rebranding campaign incorporating a new logo and on-air look that launched on Wednesday, October 27, 2010. [33] [34] Syfy and Chiller President Dave Howe said, "We have very ambitious plans to grow this network as a brand." [33] [34]
On December 3, 2009, after months of rumors, a deal was formally announced in which Comcast would buy a stake in NBC Universal from GE for $6.5 billion after the spin-off of certain businesses, pending regulatory approval. [35] Under the agreement, NBC Universal would be controlled with a 51% stake by Comcast and GE would retain the remaining 49%. The deal includes a provision under which Comcast must contribute $7.5 billion in programming including regional sports networks and cable channels such as Golf Channel, Versus, PBS Kids Sprout and E! Entertainment Television. GE used some of the funds, $5.8 billion, to buy out Vivendi's 20% minority stake in NBC Universal. [35] Under the terms of the deal, Comcast reserved the right to buy out GE's share at certain times, and GE reserved the right to force the sale of its stake within the first seven years. [35] [36] Vivendi completed the initial transaction on September 27, 2010, selling a $2 billion stake to GE (approximately 7.66%). [37]
U.S. regulators approved the proposed sale on January 18, 2011, with conditions. Comcast would have to give up NBC control over online video site Hulu and ensure NBC Universal programming is available to competing cable operators. [38] The company unveiled a new logo designed by Wolff Olins, which replaced a logo featuring the NBC peacock and an invocation of the Universal Pictures globe, with a wordmark. The company also began to stylize its name in CamelCase as "NBCUniversal" rather than "NBC Universal", to reflect the unity of its two main divisions. [39] [40]
On January 26, 2011, Vivendi sold the remaining 20% of NBC Universal to GE, giving GE complete control of the company ahead of the completion of the sale of 51% of the company to Comcast on January 28, 2011. [41] Comcast and GE formed the joint venture holding company NBCUniversal, LLC. NBC Universal, Inc. became a unit of Comcast and adopted the name NBCUniversal Media, LLC, on January 29, 2011. [42]
Comcast had planned to buy out GE's 49% stake over the following seven years, but ownership of NBCUniversal remained split at 51–49% for two years, until the February 12, 2013 announcement that Comcast intended to complete the $16.7 billion purchase early, all at once. The sale was completed on March 19, 2013. [40] [43] [44]
The corporation on July 19, 2012, formed the NBCUniversal News Group with the NBC News, CNBC, and MSNBC divisions. [45] That same year, Comcast sold their stake in A&E Networks to Disney and Hearst, making the company a 50-50 joint venture.
In February 2013, NBCUniversal merged its two cable divisions, NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment & Cable Studios and NBCUniversal Entertainment & Digital Networks and Integrated Media, into one unit while moving out Telemundo and Mun2 to a new division, NBCUniversal Hispanic Enterprises and Content. The move also created the corporate-level position of executive vice president in charge of digital ventures. [46] In July, the company placed NBC TV Stations and Telemundo's O&Os stations into a new division, NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations, with New England Cable News being transferred into NBC TV Stations. [47]
On April 28, 2016, NBCUniversal officially announced its intent to acquire DreamWorks Animation for $3.8 billion. [48] Universal Pictures took over the distribution for DreamWorks Animation films after its deal with 20th Century Fox expired. The sale was approved by board members, but was subject to regulatory approval. [49] [50] On June 21, 2016, the acquisition was approved by the United States Department of Justice. [51] [52] On August 22, 2016, the deal was completed, and DreamWorks Animation is now a wholly owned subsidiary of NBCUniversal and was integrated into Universal Pictures. [53] This gave Universal Pictures distribution to both DreamWorks Animation and Illumination films beginning in 2019. The company later sold its stake in A&E to Disney and Hearst, making it a 50-50 joint venture.
On February 28, 2017, NBCUniversal announced that it would acquire the remaining 49% stake in the Universal Studios Japan theme park that it did not own. [54]
On May 1, 2017, NBCUniversal announced that Sprout would be relaunched as Universal Kids on September 9, 2017. Universal Pictures' acquisition of DreamWorks Animation in 2016 would also be leveraged by Universal Kids to bolster its programming. Industry observers felt that the integration of DreamWorks IP with Universal Kids would help NBCUniversal establish a viable multi-platform competitor to other major children's networks such as Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and Disney Channel. [55] [56] [57] [58] [59]
On May 10, 2017, NBCUniversal announced that it had acquired Denver-based online platform Craftsy for its Cable Entertainment Group division. [60]
On November 16, 2017, NBCUniversal's parent company Comcast made a bid to acquire 21st Century Fox's filmed entertainment, cable entertainment, and international assets, ten days after The Walt Disney Company (at the time, owners of rival network ABC, cable sports channel ESPN and theme parks Disneyland and Walt Disney World) was reported to be negotiating with Fox for the same assets. The deal contained key assets such as the 20th Century Fox film and television studios, 30% stake in Hulu, television assets FX Networks, National Geographic Channel, and international television operations such as Star India, while excluding the Fox Broadcasting Company, the Fox News Channel, Fox Television Stations, Fox Business Network, Fox Sports 1 and 2, Fox Deportes, and the Big Ten Network, all of which were spun off into the "New Fox" company (later known as the Fox Corporation) run by the Murdoch family. [61] [62]
However, on December 11, 2017, Comcast officially dropped the bid, saying that "We never got the level of engagement needed to make a definitive offer." [63] On December 14, 2017, Disney officially confirmed its acquisition of the most 21st Century Fox assets, which was granted approval from the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division on June 27, 2018, and approved by stockholders from both companies one month later. [64]
On April 25, 2018, Comcast launched its takeover offer for Sky plc at £12.50 per-share, or approximately £22.1 billion. [65] [66] 21st Century Fox owned a significant stake in Sky and was trying to take full control of it itself, ahead of its own acquisition by The Walt Disney Company. NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke stated that purchasing Sky would roughly double its presence in English-speaking markets, and allow for synergies between the respective networks and studios of NBCUniversal and Sky. [67] On June 5, 2018, Culture Secretary Matt Hancock cleared both 21st Century Fox and Comcast's respective offers to acquire Sky plc. Fox's offer was contingent on the divestiture of Sky News. [68] [69] On June 15, 2018, the European Commission gave antitrust clearance to Comcast's offer to purchase Sky, citing that in terms of its current assets in Europe, there would be limited impact on competition. Comcast included a 10-year commitment to the operations and funding of Sky News. [70] [71] [72] On July 11, 2018, Fox increased its bid for Sky to £14.00 per-share, valuing it at £24.5 billion. Comcast subsequently counterbid just hours later with an offer at £14.75 per-share, valued at £26 billion. [73] [74]
On September 20, 2018, the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers ordered that a blind auction be held "in order to provide an orderly framework for the resolution of this competitive situation". In this process, Fox, followed by Comcast, made new cash-only bids for Sky. After these first two rounds of bidding, there would be a third round where both companies could make new offers. However, the third round of bidding would only be binding if both companies make a bid. [75] Comcast won the auction with a bid of £17.28 per-share, beating Fox's bid of £15.67. [76] [77] Sky plc had until October 11, 2018, to formally accept this offer. [78]
Following its auction victory, Comcast began to acquire Sky shares from the open market. On September 26, 2018, Fox subsequently announced its intent to sell all of its shares in Sky plc to Comcast for £12 billion. [78] [79] On October 4, 2018, Fox completed the sale of its shares, giving Comcast a 76.8% controlling stake at the time. [80] On October 12, 2018, Comcast announced it will compulsorily acquire the rest of Sky after its bid gained acceptances from 95.3% of the broadcaster's shareholders with the company being delisted by early 2019. [81] Sky was delisted on November 7, 2018, after Comcast acquired all remaining shares. [82]
While NBCUniversal and Sky still operate mainly as separate entities within Comcast, following the Sky takeover Comcast has begun the process of integrating some of NBCUniversal's international operations with parts of Sky. Among other moves, NBCUniversal's pay television channels in the United Kingdom will be folded with Sky's, and Sky Deutschland will become the parent company of NBCU's German networks. [83]
On January 14, 2019, NBCUniversal announced that it will launch an over-the-top streaming service to compete with Netflix, CBS All Access, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Apple TV+, HBO Max, and Disney+. [84] A reorganization of the major direct reporting division was made. Bonnie Hammer was appointed chairman of NBCUniversal Direct-to-Consumer and Digital Enterprises via the streaming services and the Digital Enterprises unit. Her former unit, NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment Group, was given to Mark Lazarus as chairman, NBCUniversal Broadcast, Cable, Sports and News. Universal Filmed Entertainment Group chairman Jeff Shell added NBC Entertainment, Telemundo and international channels as chairman of NBCUniversal Film and Entertainment. [85] On September 17, 2019, NBCUniversal announced the service would be called Peacock and is expected to launch in July 2020. [86]
NBCUniversal Content Studios was formed in October 2019 with Hammer as chairman and George Cheeks as vice chairman, who was co-chairman of NBC Entertainment. This new unit consists of Universal Television and Universal Content Productions. Hammer was replaced as chairman of the Direct-to-Consumer and Digital Enterprises unit by Comcast executive Matt Strauss, while Paul Telegdy would become sole chairman of NBC Entertainment and continue reporting to Shell. [87]
On February 25, 2020, Comcast announced it would purchase Xumo from the Panasonic/Viant joint venture for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition of the service—which will continue to operate as an independent business, albeit within Comcast's cable television division—stems mainly from Xumo's partnerships with smart TV manufacturers (including LG, Panasonic, and Vizio), which would allow Comcast to use Xumo's placement to market or showcase Xfinity and other Comcast services as well as use its technology to develop additional streaming platforms. The company plans to add content from the NBCUniversal programming library and the company's various television networks as well as use it to upsell its free/subscription hybrid service Peacock, akin to ViacomCBS's utilization of Pluto TV to offer content from its cable networks following the former Viacom's purchase of the rival streamer in the Spring of 2019. [88] [89] [90]
In February 2020, it was reported that Comcast (via NBCUniversal) had entered talks into acquiring Vudu from Walmart. [91] On April 20, 2020, Fandango (jointly owned by Comcast and WarnerMedia) announced that it would be acquiring Vudu. [92] [93] The acquisition was completed on July 6, 2020. [94] Vudu was renamed Fandango at Home in 2024.
Following Jeff Shell's exit in 2023, NBCUniversal announced that corporate management will be led by a leadership team while Michael J. Cavanagh continues to oversee Comcast as a whole. [95]
On November 20, 2024, Comcast announced that it will spin off most of its cable networks and selected digital properties into a new publicly-traded company, referred to under the interim name "SpinCo"; the spin-off seeks to separate the networks from businesses such as the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks and its divisions, Peacock, Universal Pictures, Universal Studio Group, its international channels and Universal Destinations & Experiences, while providing them with the ability to make their own further investments and acquisitions. [96] [97]
"SpinCo" will include networks such as USA Network, CNBC, MSNBC, E!, Golf Channel, Oxygen, and Syfy, as well as digital properties such as Fandango Media and SportsEngine. NBCUniversal will retain Bravo, as the network is a major provider of content to Peacock. It will also exclude Universal Kids, which NBCUniversal later announced would close in March 2025. [96] [98] Shares in "SpinCo" will be distributed to Comcast shareholders and trade independently thereafter; it will have the same share structure as Comcast, with Brian L. Roberts and his family holding a 33% voting share. [96]
Questions have been raised over how the spin-off will impact the synergies between the networks and legacy divisions being retained by NBCUniversal (including in particular, the NBC News and NBC Sports divisions). [96] [97] [99] [100] When asked about the impact of the spin-off, NBC Sports president Rick Cordell stated that the division would "fulfill every obligation" it has with networks that are part of the spin-off (such as USA Network and Golf Channel), implicating they will still carry NBC Sports programming covered under current contracts (such as the Olympic Games and PGA Tour). [101] Universal Kids is planned to shut down in March of 2025.
This section needs additional citations for verification .(July 2023) |
USA Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports cable television channels.
Universal Studios, Inc. is an American media and entertainment conglomerate and holding company which owns Universal Pictures. It is the film production arm of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast. The company is one of two namesake flagship subsidiaries of NBCUniversal alongside the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), the oldest of the United States' Big Three television networks.
Comcast Corporation, formerly known as Comcast Holdings, is an American multinational mass media corporation that works in telecommunications and entertainment. It is incorporated and headquartered in Philadelphia. Comcast is the fourth-largest broadcasting and cable television company worldwide by revenue. It is the third-largest pay-TV company, the second-largest cable TV company by subscribers, and the largest home Internet service provider in the United States. In 2023, the company was ranked 51st in the Forbes Global 2000.
Bravo is an American basic cable television network, launched on December 8, 1980. It is owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. The channel originally focused on programming related to fine arts and film. Since the 2000s, its has focused heavily on reality series targeted at 25-to-54-year-old women and the LGBTQIA2S+ community at large. Its former sister channels are Nickelodeon and IFC, which are currently owned by Paramount Global and AMC Networks, respectively. As of November 2023, Bravo is available to approximately 70,000,000 pay television households in the United States, down from its 2013 peak of 95,000,000 households.
NBCUniversal Media Group is the television and streaming arm of NBCUniversal, and the direct descendant and successor of the former division NBCUniversal Television Group, which existed from 2004 to 2019.
Hulu, LLC is an American subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as a joint venture between News Corporation and NBC Universal. Many companies like AT&T's WarnerMedia, Providence Equity, and The Walt Disney Company bought stakes in the service. Hulu served as an aggregation of recent episodes of television series from the respective television broadcasting by its owners. In 2010, Hulu launched a subscription service, initially branded as "Hulu Plus," which featured full seasons of programs from the companies and other partners, and un-delayed access to new episodes. In 2017, the company launched Hulu with Live TV—an over-the-top streaming television service offering access to broadcast television channels.
WNEU is a television station licensed to Merrimack, New Hampshire, United States, serving as the Boston-area outlet for the Spanish-language network Telemundo. It is owned and operated by NBCUniversal's Telemundo Station Group alongside Nashua, New Hampshire–licensed Class A NBC station WBTS-CD, which shares spectrum with Boston-based PBS member station WGBX-TV to provide full-market coverage.
New England Cable News (NECN) is a regional 24-hour cable news television network owned and operated by NBCUniversal serving the New England region of the United States. It focuses on regional news, though in some low priority timeslots, paid programming and programming from WNBC such as Talk Stoop and Open House are seen.
USA Broadcasting was an American television broadcasting company owned by the veteran entertainment industry executive Barry Diller. This company was the over-the-air broadcasting arm of USA Networks. Before founding USA Broadcasting, Diller was a helper in Gulf+Western's failed Paramount Television Service and News Corporation's new Fox Broadcasting Company that was launched on October 9, 1986.
Telemundo is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast. It provides content nationally with programming syndicated worldwide to more than 100 countries in over 35 languages.
NBCUniversal International Networks & Direct-to-Consumer, formerly NBC Universal Global Networks, Universal Networks International and NBCUniversal International Networks, is a part of NBCUniversal, owned by Comcast.
Universal Content Productions LLC (UCP) is an American television production company operating within the Universal Studio Group division of NBCUniversal, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast.
On December 3, 2009, telecommunications company Comcast announced its intent to acquire mass media company NBC Universal from General Electric (GE). The acquisition was subject to scrutiny from activists and government officials; their concerns primarily surrounded the potential effects of the vertical integration that the acquisition could create, as Comcast is also heavily involved in cable television and internet services in many media markets. The deal went through on January 28, 2011, resulting in Comcast owning 51% of the company until March 19, 2013, when GE divested its stake to give Comcast sole ownership. Through this acquisition, Comcast gained ownership of the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), the film studio Universal Pictures, cable channels such as Syfy, CNBC and MSNBC, and Universal Parks & Resorts, among other assets owned by NBC Universal. It has also integrated its own cable channels – including E! and Golf Channel – into NBC Universal. As a result of the acquisition, NBC Universal slightly changed its name to "NBCUniversal", rendered in camel case, to indicate the integration between NBC and Universal Studios.
NBC Sports Group is a division of NBCUniversal Media Group that is responsible for NBC Sports' media properties, encompassing the NBC television network's sports division as well as day-to-day operation of the company's sports-oriented cable networks and other properties such as NBC Sports Radio.
NBC Owned Television Stations is the division of NBCUniversal Owned TV Stations (NBCUniversal), a subsidiary of Comcast that oversees the NBC owned-and-operated television stations, Cozi TV network, LXTV and Skycastle Entertainment, its in-house marketing and promotion company. NBCUniversal's Telemundo owned-and-operated stations are held in the separate Telemundo Station Group.
Universal Kids is a soon to be defunct American children's television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast.
Telemundo Station Group is the division of NBCUniversal Owned TV Stations (NBCUniversal), a subsidiary of Comcast that oversees their Telemundo owned-and-operated television stations and the TeleXitos network. The NBC owned-and-operated stations are held in the separate NBC Owned Television Stations division.
Peacock TV, LLC, doing business as Peacock, is an American over-the-top subscription streaming service owned and operated by Comcast through its entertainment division NBCUniversal. The service launched on July 15, 2020, and was named after the NBC logo. The service primarily features series and film content from NBCUniversal studios and other third-party content providers, including television series, films, news, and sports programming. Peacock initially debuted in free, "Premium", and "Premium Plus" plans, with the free version offering a limited selection of content, and Premium Plus offering ad-free video on-demand content and streaming of NBC affiliates; since January 2023, the free tier is no longer available as an option to new customers unless their subscription lapses. As of January 2025, Peacock had 36 million paid subscribers.