NBC source: FCC to OK Comcast deal Jan. 25

In a bit of news that should be taken with a shaker (not a grain) of salt, an NBC source has told The Hollywood Reporter that the FCC will approve the Comcast-NBC Universal merger at its Jan. 25 meeting. For some reason, the source said, the announcement of the approval will be made Jan. 28.

The salt is needed to season an information source from a network that, according to most coverage of the Television Critics Association (TCA) tour, is momentarily headless. With a lame duck boss (Jeffrey Zucker) and an executive in limbo (Robert Greenblatt), NBC made no one available to the critics to explain what it's planning for its broadcast network.

"In light of where we are in our transition, we didn't think it would be appropriate to have an executive session," an NBC spokeswoman said. That, is "not good for them at this time," responded TCA leader Susan Young. "It seems like a rudderless ship."

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