WASHINGTON - The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission signaled support Thursday for Comcast's bid for majority stake in NBC Universal, but with conditions to ensure that the combined media giant plays fair with competitors and doesn't stifle the nascent market for online video.
Senior officials at the FCC wouldn't detail the conditions but said they are meant to ensure that rival pay-TV services such as DirecTV or AT&T get fair access to NBC programming. The officials said FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski also is seeking to ensure that online video sites, which could pose a threat to Comcast's cable TV franchise, are not harmed by the deal. That could mean a requirement that NBC content not be unfairly withheld from Web TV upstarts such as Netflix or Apple.
Genachowski on Thursday began circulating his order seeking conditional approval of the deal to other members of the five-member commission, which is expected to vote early next year. The Department of Justice must approve the takeover on antitrust grounds as well.
The approval order also addresses the ability of non-Comcast channels to get fair access to Comcast's cable lineup. The worry is that channels that compete with Comcast-owned stations will be assigned numbers way outside the cluster of similar channels, making it less likely viewers will watch them.
Nationwide, Comcast has nearly 23.6 million cable TV subscribers and almost 17 million high-speed Internet customers.
The company announced its bid late last year to obtain 51 percent control of NBC Universal from General Electric Co. for $13.8 billion.
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