Regulatory delays gave Comcast time to understand NBC Universal

The 13 months between when Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) announced it wanted to acquire NBC Universal and when the federal government finally said it could weren't wasted time, new NBCUniversal CEO and former Comcast COO Steve Burke said during Comcast's quarterly earnings call.

The delay, he said, gave Comcast "a chance to really know the assets, really get to know the people and get a chance to create a set of goals and plans and priorities for the future," including maintaining and improving an already strong lineup of cable channels and beefing up the flagging NBC broadcast network.

"The cable channels are in fantastic shape," he said. The broadcast network is another story. "We have some real strength in NBC News and some real weakness with prime time."

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