Deals
Comcast Gets Unshackled With NBC Deal Curbs Expiring Next Year
- Cable giant to regain say in Hulu, leverage with distributors
- AT&T-Time Warner union seen weighing on Comcast’s strategy
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When Hulu introduced a commercial-free option in 2015, NBC executives were frustrated. Despite owning a stake in Hulu, they could only watch even though they preferred that streaming-video provider stick with an advertising-supported model, according to two people close to NBC.
For the past six years, the media giant has been barred from having any say over Hulu, which is also owned by Walt Disney Co., 21st Century Fox Inc. and Time Warner Inc. It’s one of dozens of restrictions that Comcast Corp. accepted to win approval to buy NBCUniversal, home of the NBC broadcast network, cable channels like USA and MSNBC, theme parks and a film studio.