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- NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.
- NBCUniversal is primarily involved in the media and entertainment industry. The company is named for its two most significant divisions, the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) – one of the United States' Big Three television networks – and the major Hollywood film studio Universal Pictures. It also has a significant presence in broadcasting through a portfolio of domestic and international properties, including USA Network, Syfy, Bravo, Telemundo, Universal Kids, and the streaming service Peacock. Via its Universal Parks & Resorts division, NBCUniversal is also the third-largest operator of amusement parks in the world.
- NBCUniversal was formed on August 2, 2004, with the merger of General Electric's NBC with Vivendi Universal's film and television subsidiary Vivendi Universal Entertainment, after GE had acquired 80% of the subsidiary, giving Vivendi a 20% share of the new company. In 2011, Comcast attained 51% and thereby the control of newly reformed NBCUniversal, by purchasing shares from GE, while GE bought out Vivendi. Since 2013, the company has been wholly owned by Comcast, which bought GE's ownership stake.
- 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 they would have some hits on the 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).
- In 1998, NBC partnered with Dow Jones & Co. The two companies combined their financial news channels outside the US. 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 (now known as Ion Media), operator of PAX TV (now known as Ion Television).
- In 2001, NBC acquired the US Spanish-language broadcaster Telemundo, that includes the bilingual Mun2 Television for $1.98 billion. 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 Universal, now Vivendi), decided to sell an 80% stake to NBC's parent company, General Electric. The sale and resulting merger formed NBC Universal. The new company was 80% owned by GE, and 20% owned by Vivendi. The joint venture encompassed Vivendi's US film interests (such as Universal Studios), Universal Network Television, NBC Universal Television Distribution, production and distribution units, 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 (with Vivendi owning the rest). 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. NBC Studios series bought into the company include the NBC dramas Las Vegas (with DreamWorks SKG), Crossing Jordan, and American Dreams. Universal Network Television bought 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 also bought 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.
- 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. 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 their 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).
- 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 their 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."
- 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 intentions to buy The Weather Channel from Landmark Communications. The deal closed on September 12, 2008. Shortly after the acquisition completed, NBC announced that their 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 by acquiring 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 International Entertainment 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.
- On August 27, 2009, A&E Television Networks (A&E) merged with Lifetime Entertainment Services (Lifetime), 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. Syfy and Chiller President Dave Howe said, "We have very ambitious plans to grow this network as a brand."
- 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. Under the agreement, NBC Universal would be controlled with a 51% stake by Comcast and GE would retain the remaining 49%. Comcast paid $6.5 billion cash to GE. 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 reserves the right to buy out GE's share at certain times, and GE reserves the right to force the sale of their 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 would 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 its remaining shares in 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 wholly owned subsidiary of the holding company and was renamed as 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 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.
- The corporation on July 19, 2012 formed the NBCUniversal News Group with the NBC News, CNBC, and MSNBC divisions.
- 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 Florida's News Channel and New England Cable News being transferred into NBC TV Stations.
- On April 28, 2016, NBCUniversal officially announced its intent to acquire DreamWorks Animation for $3.8 billion. Universal Pictures took over the distribution for DreamWorks Animation films after their deal with 20th Century Fox expired. The sale was approved by board members, but was subject to regulatory approval. On June 21, 2016, the acquisition was approved by the United States Department of Justice. On August 22, 2016, the deal was completed, and DreamWorks Animation is now a wholly owned subsidiary of NBCUniversal. This gave Universal Pictures distribution to both DreamWorks Animation and Illumination films beginning in 2019.
- On February 15, 2017, Universal Studios acquired a minority stake in Amblin Partners, strengthening the relationship between Universal and Amblin, and reuniting a minority percentage of the DreamWorks Pictures label with DreamWorks Animation.
- 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.
- 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; critics felt that the DWA purchase and the launch of Universal Kids were meant to help NBCUniversal establish a viable multi-platform presence in children's media, and give the company a competitor to other major children's brands such as Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and Disney Channel.
- On May 10, 2017, NBCUniversal announced that it had acquired Denver-based online platform Craftsy for its Cable Entertainment Group division.
- In December 2019, it was reported that Steve Burke is expected to step down from his role as CEO by August 2020, following the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and the expiration of his contract. His likely replacement is NBCUniversal film-and-entertainment boss Jeff Shell.
- 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+. 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. On September 17, 2019, NBCUniversal announced the service would be called Peacock and is expected to launch in July 2020.
- 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.
- 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.
- In February 2020, it was reported that Comcast (via NBCUniversal) had entered talks into acquiring Vudu from Walmart. On April 20, 2020, Fandango (owned by NBCUniversal and AT&T's WarnerMedia) announced that they would be acquiring Vudu. The acquisition was completed on July 6, 2020.
- List of assets owned by NBCUniversal:
- NBCUniversal Television and Streaming
- - NBCUniversal Television Distribution
- - International Media Distribution
- - EMKA, Ltd.
- Entertainment Networks
- NBC - National Broadcasting Company
- - NBC Studios
- E! Studios
- - Wilshire Studios, reality studio
- Syfy
- USA
- Bravo
- E!
- Oxygen
- Universal Kids
- NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises
- Telemundo
- Universo
- Telemundo of Puerto Rico Studios
- Telemundo Studios
- - Underground Producciones
- Telemundo Internacional
- Telemundo Films
- NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations
- Affiliate Relations
- NBC Owned Television Stations
- - Cozi TV
- - FNC
- - K15CU-D 15 – Salinas
- - KNBC 4 – Los Angeles
- - KNSD 39 (cable 7) – San Diego
- - KNTV 11 – San Jose/San Francisco
- - KXAS 5 – Dallas/Fort Worth
- - Lx
- - LXTV
- - NECN
- - The Comcast Network
- - WBTS-CD – Boston
- - WCAU 10 – Philadelphia
- - WMAQ 5 – Chicago
- - WNBC 4 – New York
- - WRC 4 – Washington
- - WTVJ 6 – Miami
- - WVIT 30 – Hartford
- Telemundo Station Group
- - KBLR – Las Vegas
- - KCSO – Sacramento
- - KDEN-TV – Longmont, Colorado
- - KHRR – Tucson
- - KNSO – Fresno
- - KSTS – San Jose/San Francisco
- - KTAZ – Phoenix
- - KTDO – El Paso
- - KTMD – Houston
- - KTMW – Salt Lake City
- - KUAN – San Diego
- - KVDA – San Antonio
- - KVEA – Los Angeles
- - KXTX – Dallas/Fort Worth
- - TeleXitos
- - WKAQ – Puerto Rico
- - WNEU – Boston/Merrimack
- - WNJU – New York
- - WRDM – Hartford
- - WRIW – Providence
- - WRMD – Tampa
- - WSCV – Miami
- - WSNS – Chicago
- - WTMO – Orlando
- - WZDC – Washington
- Skycastle Entertainment
- Ion Media (owns 32%)
- - Ion Television
- - Qubo
- - Ion Plus
- G4 Media (88%, with Dish Network)
- - G4
- NBC Sports Group
- - Golf Channel
- - MLB Network (5.44%) joint venture with Major League Baseball and other providers
- NBC Olympics, LLC
- - NBC Olympic broadcasts
- - Olympic Channel
- NBC Sports
- NBCSN
- NHL Network (United States) (15.6%) joint venture with National Hockey League
- SportsEngine
- Telemundo Deportes
- NBC Sports Regional Networks
- - NBC Sports Bay Area (45%)
- - NBC Sports California
- - NBC Sports Chicago (20%)
- - NBC Sports Washington
- - NBC Sports Washington +
- - NBC Sports Boston
- - NBC Sports Northwest
- - NBC Sports Philadelphia
- - NBC Sports Philadelphia +
- - SportsNet New York (8%) joint venture with the New York Mets and Charter Communications
- - NBC Sports Films
- NBC Sports Digital
- - Playmaker Media
- - Allstar Stats LLC.
- - Rotoworld
- - Revolution Golf
- - GolfPass
- - NBC Sports Gold
- - GolfNow
- - NBC Sports Digital Network
- NBC Sports Ventures LLC.
- - Alli Sports
- - NBC Sports Radio
- World Long Drivers Association
- - World Long Drive Championships
- American Century Championship
- Father/Son Challenge (With IMG)
- National Dog Show
- Beverly Hills Dog Show
- All-American Bowl
- Direct-to-Consumer
- Fandango (70%, joint venture with WarnerMedia)
- - FandangoNow (formerly M-GO)
- - Fandango Movieclips
- - Rotten Tomatoes
- - Fandango Latam
- - Movies.com
- - MovieTickets.com
- - Vudu
- Stakes:
- - Snap
- - BuzzFeed
- - Vox Media
- Hayu
- Bluprint
- Hulu (33%)
- - Hulu Documentary Films
- Integrated Media Group
- Peacock
- PictureBox Films
- NBCUniversal International Networks
- Universal TV
- - Latin America (operated and distributed by HBO Latin America)
- - Brazil (joint venture with Globosat (50%), distributed by Globosat)
- - United Kingdom and Ireland
- - Germany
- - Hungary
- - Czech Republic and Slovakia
- - Poland
- - Romania
- - Greece
- - Africa
- - Asia
- - Japan
- - Philippines
- - Turkey
- - Australia
- Syfy
- - Latin America (operated and distributed by HBO Latin America)
- - Brazil (joint venture with Globosat (50%), distributed by Globosat)
- - United Kingdom and Ireland
- - France
- - Germany
- - Netherlands
- - Spain
- - Portugal
- - Middle East and North Africa
- - Africa
- - Sci Fi (Poland)
- - Sci Fi (Russia)
- - Sci Fi (Romania)
- - Sci Fi (Serbia)
- - Sci Fi (Slovenia)
- - Asia
- - Australia
- 13th Street
- - 13th Street (Australia)
- - 13ème Rue Universal (France)
- - 13th Street (Germany)
- - 13th Street (Netherlands)
- - 13 Ulica (Poland)
- - 13-ya Ulitsa (Russia)
- - Calle 13 (Spain)
- Movies 24 (United Kingdom and Ireland)
- - Movies 24 +
- E! (Europe)
- E! (Asia)
- E! (Australia)
- Studio Universal
- - Latin America (operated and distributed by HBO Latin America)
- - Brazil (joint venture with Globosat (50%), distributed by Globosat)
- Diva (Asia)
- Diva Channel (Poland)
- Diva Channel (Romania)
- Diva (Adria)
- Style Network (Australia)
- DreamWorks Channel
- NBCUniversal News Group
- CNBC
- - CNBC World
- - CNBC Latin America
- - CNBC Africa (franchisely operated by Africa Business News)
- - CNBC Asia
- - CNBC Europe
- - CNBC Arabiya (franchisely operated by Middle East Business News)
- - CNBC TV18 (joint venture with Network 18)
- - CNBC Awaaz (joint venture with Network 18)
- - CNBC Bajar (joint venture with Network 18)
- - Nikkei CNBC (joint venture with The Nikkei and TV Tokyo)
- - SBS CNBC (joint venture with SBS Media Holdings)
- - CNBC Indonesia (joint venture with Trans Media)
- - Class CNBC (joint venture with Class Editori and Mediaset)
- - CNBC-e (licensed to Doğuş Yayın Grubu)
- - CNBC Pakistan (licensed to Gourmet Foods)
- - CNBC Polska (licensed to Central European Media Enterprises)
- - JKN-CNBC (licensed to JKN Global Media)
- NBC News
- - MSNBC
- - NBCNews.com
- - NBCUniversal Archives
- - NBC News Studios
- - MSNBC Films
- - NBC News Channel
- - NBC News Digital Group
- - NBC News Radio
- Universal Studio Group
- Universal Television
- - Universal Television Alternative Studio
- - SNL Studios (With Lorne Michaels)
- Universal Content Productions
- - UCP Audio (2020)
- NBCUniversal International Studios
- - Chocolate Media (UK)
- - Lark Productions (Canada)
- - Lucky Giant (UK)
- - Monkey Kingdom (UK)
- - Matchbox Pictures (Australia)
- NBCUniversal Formats
- Universal Parks and Resorts
- Universal Studios Hollywood
- Universal Orlando Resort
- Universal Studios Japan
- Universal CityWalk
- Universal Studios Singapore
- Universal Creative
- Universal Operations Group
- Universal Beijing Resort
- Universal Filmed Entertainment Group
- Universal Pictures
- Illumination
- - Illumination Mac Guff
- DreamWorks Animation
- - DreamWorks Animation Television
- - Classic Media
- - Big Idea Entertainment
- - Bullwinkle Studios (50%, joint venture with Jay Ward Productions)
- - Harvey Entertainment (name-only unit)
- - DreamWorks Live Theatrical Productions
- - DreamWorks New Media
- - Peacock Kids
- - DreamWorks Press
- Focus Features
- Amblin Partners (minority stake; joint venture with The Amblin Group, Participant Media, Reliance Entertainment, Entertainment One, and Alibaba Pictures)
- - DreamWorks Pictures
- - Amblin Entertainment
- - Amblin Television
- Working Title Films
- - WT2 Productions
- - Working Title Television
- Carnival Films
- Universal Animation Studios
- Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
- - Universal Home Entertainment Productions
- - Universal 1440 Entertainment
- - DreamWorks Animation Home Entertainment
- - Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Australia (joint venture with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
- - Universal Playback
- United International Pictures (50%, joint venture with ViacomCBS's Paramount Pictures)
- Rede Telecine (10%, joint venture with Globosat, Disney, Paramount Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
- Universal Pictures International Entertainment
- - NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan
- - Paramount Home Media Distribution Japan
- Back Lot Music
- OTL Releasing
- Universal Brand Development
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