NBCUniversal Media, LLC (doing business as NBCUniversal or Comcast NBCUniversal since 2013), abbreviated as NBCU, is an International multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate that is a subsidiary of Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is mostly involved in the media and entertainment industry, 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 holds a portfolio of domestic and international properties, including Bravo, Cozi TV, Telemundo, Universo, and the streaming service Peacock. Via its Universal Destinations & Experiences division, NBCUniversal is also the third-largest operator of amusement parks in the world.
NBCUniversal was created on May 11, 2004, as NBC Universal, Inc. on November 8, 2004, when Vivendi Universal sold 80% of Vivendi Universal Entertainment (Universal Pictures) to General Electric, NBC's then-owner. 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 acquiring shares from GE, with GE buying out Vivendi's stake. Since 2013, the company has been wholly owned by Comcast, which bought the remaining 49% of the company from GE. Since November 2018, Sky Group, which was formed through the acquisition of Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland in 2014, is also under Comcast's control.
History
Background NBC and Universal Television had a long-term 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.
Television
NBC Universal Television has its modern roots in a series of expansions undertaken by NBC, whose full legal name was National Broadcasting Company, Inc. 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).
In 1998, NBC partnered with Dow Jones & Co. 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.
In 2001, NBC acquired the US Spanish-language broadcaster Telemundo, which includes the bilingual Mun2 Television for $1.98 billion. That same year NBC acquired the cable channel Bravo.
Combining with Universal
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 in 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. The Universal Music Group was not included in the deal and is not part of NBC Universal.
On August 2, 2004, the television divisions of NBC and Universal Television were combined to form NBC Universal Television. Entertainment shows produced by the new group included The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and Saturday Night Live.
With the re-incorporation of National Broadcasting Company, Inc. to NBC Universal, Inc., Vivendi Universal Entertainment LLLP would be re-incorporated to Universal City Studios Productions LLLP (which would take on the "business name" of "NBCUniversal Television Distribution").
The formation of NBC Universal saw the establishment of NBC Universal Cable, which oversaw the distribution, marketing, and advertisement sales for thirteen channels. It also owned a 50% stake in Canal+ and a 15% stake in A+E Networks until 2012.
Global expansion
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.
In January 2006, NBC Universal launched a new cable channel, Sleuth, later rebranded as Cloo.Exclusive: Sleuth Gets A New Name: Meet Cloo , TV Guide, April 7, 2011Exclusive: Newly Rebranded Cloo TV Picks Up First Original Series TV Guide July 15, 2011 One year after Sleuth's debut, NBC Universal announced that the company would launch a horror-themed cable channel, Chiller, on March 1, 2007.
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 parts and creative genres."
In August 2007, NBC Universal purchased Sparrowhawk Media Group and renamed it NBC Universal Global Networks. This acquisition gave NBC Universal all Hallmark channels outside the United States, plus the English channels Diva TV, Movies 24, Hallmark Channel and KidsCo. Later that fall, the company also acquired the Oxygen network in a separate $925 million deal. The sale was completed one month later.
In the summer of 2008, NBC Universal, Blackstone Group and Bain Capital announced their intention to buy The Weather Channel from Landmark Communications. The deal closed on September 12, 2008. Shortly after the acquisition was 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.
The summer of 2008 marked NBC Universal's first venture into the United Kingdom with the acquisition of English television production company Carnival Films.
On November 12, 2008, NBC Universal acquired 80.1% of Geneon Entertainment from Dentsu in Japan, merging it with Universal Pictures Japan to form a new company, Geneon Universal Entertainment Japan.
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. The re-branding and name change took place on July 7, 2009.Syfy: Not Your Father's Sci-Fi , Fortune, July 7, 2009
On August 27, 2009, A&E Television Networks (A&E) merged with Lifetime Entertainment Services (Lifetime),A&E Acquires Lifetime, Variety.com, August 27, 2009A&E Networks, Lifetime Merger Completed , Broadcasting & Cable, August 27, 2009 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.Chiller Announces Major Redesign , TV By the Numbers, October 20, 2010 Syfy and Chiller President Dave Howe said, "We have very ambitious plans to grow this network as a brand." The channel would shut down in 2017.
Ownership by Comcast (2011–present)
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. 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, and E! Entertainment Television. GE used some of the funds, $5.8 billion, to buy out Vivendi's 20% minority stake in NBC Universal. 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. Vivendi completed the initial transaction on September 27, 2010, selling a $2 billion stake to GE (approximately 7.66%).
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. 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.
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. 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.
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 announcement on February 12, 2013, that Comcast intended to complete the $16.7 billion purchase ahead of time all immediately. The sale was completed on March 19, 2013.
The corporation, on July 19, 2012, formed the NBCUniversal News Group with the NBC News, CNBC, and MSNBC divisions."New York Deadline" Pat Fili-Krushel To Oversee NBCUniversal News Group deadline.com, Retrieved on July 23, 2012 That same year, Comcast sold its 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. 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.