Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is starting to flex its programming muscles within the NBCUniversal broadcast station groups, most recently taking over sports coverage for an NBC station, KNTV, in the San Francisco Bay area.
It's all part of a total plan to more tightly align the operations of the cable company and its broadcasting entities. Comcast regional sports networks, which will handle the coverage, are an example of the intertwined relationships. Jon Litner runs the networks from Comcast's home base in Philadelphia but reports to NBCUniversal in New York City.
Comcast, in a statement, said that it would provide live daily sports news segments seamlessly into the station's nightly newscasts without laying off any station employees. The move is "initially limited to the Bay area (but Comcast) will evaluate ways that outlets in other markets can work together on a case-by-case basis," Comcast spokesman Tim Fitzpatrick told the Philadelphia Inquirer.
For more:
- the Philadelphia Inquirer has this story
Related articles:
Smit: NBCU will give Comcast programming 'synergies'
NBC Universal writers take sides with Comcast counterparts