CEO Brian Roberts

Multichannel NewsComcast Is Launching a Netflix CompetitorWall Street JournalBy SAM SCHECHNER Comcast Corp. is taking aim at Netflix Inc., unveiling its own streaming-video service that will give existing Comcast video customers a similar selection of old TV shows and movies over the Web. The Philadelphia-based cable operator ...Comcast Launches Subscription VOD Service for Older TV, Movie ContentHollywood ReporterComcast launching new subscription VOD serviceVarietyComcast gives subscribers...Read Full Story

No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were. Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee. John Donne, Meditation XVII, 1624 The painter Andrew Wyeth died yesterday, reminding me of the first time I...Read Full Story

The next big trend in television could be 3-D at home. Comcast Corp.'s CEO, Brian Roberts, weighed in during a conference call Wednesday on whether consumers will be eager to buy the technology and what that would mean for cable companies.QUESTION: There's been a lot of excitement around 3-D, so how do you view this opportunity?RESPONSE: The consumer electronics companies just began selling the latest generation of 3-D TVs. That said, the incremental price required to get a 3-D TV is so much...Read Full Story

Comcast Corp., like its fellow cable operators, is watchful for any new technology or device that could mount a serious challenge to cable by bringing content directly to the consumer in and outside of the home.Devices such as Apple Inc.'s new tablet device, the iPad, can bring TV shows, movies and other content using mobile networks and wireless Internet connections. The fear for companies like Comcast is that consumers will flock to such devices and discontinue their cable TV subscriptions...Read Full Story

Comcast Corp. announced Thursday it plans to buy a majority stake in NBC Universal for $13.75 billion, giving the nation's largest cable TV operator control of the Peacock network, an array of cable channels and a major movie studio.Although the deal could mean that movies could reach cable more quickly after showing in theaters, and that TV shows could appear faster on cell phones and other devices, it was already raising concerns that Comcast would wield too much power over entertainment...Read Full Story

Comcast Corp.'s answer to the growing popularity of watching video over the Internet is to launch its own online video service in December that would let subscribers view cable TV shows and movies on their PCs at no additional charge.While the cable TV industry has been a bit wary of online video because viewers could then bypass their cable systems, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts has decided to go head-to-head with the trend.By the end of the year, Comcast will be the first cable TV operator to...Read Full Story

Some key events in Comcast Corp.'s history:1963 — Ralph Roberts buys American Cable Systems, a 1,200-subscriber cable TV operator in Tupelo, Miss., for $500,000.1969 — Company renamed Comcast — from "communications" and "broadcast."1972 — Comcast shares trade publicly.1988 — Following several acquisitions, Comcast buys 50 percent of Storer Communications Inc. to become the nation's fifth-largest cable TV operator, with more than 2 million subscribers.1990 — Ralph Roberts' son, Brian, is named...Read Full Story

The next big mega-merger between media companies seems poised to go forward, with Comcast officially taking a 51 percent stake in NBC-Universal from its longtime corporate parent General Electric, creating an entertainment giant with an estimated value of nearly $44 billion, control of nearly 82 percent of the American cable landscape, and a dizzying array of TV options, including a majority stake in popular online TV portal Hulu."Combining the assets of NBCU, ranging from our suite of cable...Read Full Story

House Democrats challenged executives from Comcast Corp. and NBC Universal on Thursday to show that the cable TV operator's plan to take control of the NBC media empire won't hurt consumers and rivals.Members of a House subcommittee on communications and technology worried that the transaction could lead to a range of competitive harms. Those include higher cable TV rates, fewer video programming choices and possibly even an end to over-the-air broadcasts of NBC's flagship television network...Read Full Story

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sports programing, a must-have for U.S. cable operators, could end up being the center of a battle between Comcast, NBC Universal and the companies' critics as regulators assess the joint venture's impact on consumers.Smaller cable companies fear that the top U.S. cable operator will jack up the fees for its sports channels, said Matthew Polka, president of the American Cable Association."Sports is certainly a major part of this merger," said Polka, whose group does not...Read Full Story