NBCUniversal

Combining with Universal

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 of itself to NBC's parent company, General Electric (GE). The sale and resulting merger formed NBC Universal. The new company was 80% owned by GE, and 20% owned by Vivendi.^[14] The joint venture encompassed Vivendi's US film interests (such as Universal Pictures), NBC Universal Television Studio, NBC Universal Television Distribution, production and distribution units, Universal Studios Home Video, Universal Studios Consumer Products Group, Back Lot Music (formerly NBC Records), 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. Universal Music Group was not included in the deal and is not part of NBC Universal.^[15]

On August 2, 2004, the television divisions of NBC and Universal Television were combined to form NBC Universal Television. NBC Studios series brought into the company include the NBC dramas Las Vegas (with DreamWorks Television), Crossing Jordan, and American Dreams. Universal Network Television brought 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 shows also brought 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.^[16]

Global expansion

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.^[17]

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).^[18][19]

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."^[20]

In August 2007, NBC Universal purchased Sparrowhawk Media Group and renamed it NBC Universal Global Networks.^[21] This acquisition gave NBC Universal all Hallmark channels outside the United States, plus the English channels Diva TV, Movies 24, Hallmark Channel and KidsCo.^[22] Later that fall, the company also acquired the Oxygen network in a separate $925 million deal.^[23] 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.^[24] 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.^[25]

The summer of 2008 marked NBC Universal's first venture into the United Kingdom by acquiring English television production company Carnival Films.^[26]

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,^[27] Geneon Universal Entertainment Japan.^[28]

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.^[29] The re-branding and name change took place on July 7, 2009.^[29][30]

On August 27, 2009, A&E Television Networks (A&E) merged with Lifetime Entertainment Services (Lifetime),^[31][32] 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.^[33][34] Syfy and Chiller President Dave Howe said, "We have very ambitious plans to grow this network as a brand."^[33][34]

Attempted takeover of 21st Century Fox assets and Comcast's subsequent acquisition of Sky

On November 16, 2017, NBCUniversal's parent company Comcast made a bid to acquire 21st Century Fox's filmed entertainment, cable entertainment, and international assets, ten days after The Walt Disney Company (at the time, owners of rival network ABC, cable sports channel ESPN and theme parks Disneyland and Walt Disney World) was reported to be negotiating with Fox for the same assets. The deal contained key assets such as the 20th Century Fox film and television studios, 30% stake in Hulu, television assets FX Networks, National Geographic Channel, and international television operations such as Star India, while excluding the Fox Broadcasting Company, the Fox News Channel, Fox Television Stations, Fox Business Network, Fox Sports 1 and 2, Fox Deportes, and the Big Ten Network, all of which were spun off into the "New Fox" company (later known as the Fox Corporation) run by the Murdoch family.^[61][62]

However, on December 11, 2017, Comcast officially dropped the bid, saying that "We never got the level of engagement needed to make a definitive offer."^[63] On December 14, 2017, Disney officially confirmed its acquisition of the most 21st Century Fox assets, which was granted approval from the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division on June 27, 2018, and approved by stockholders from both companies one month later.^[64]

On April 25, 2018, Comcast launched its takeover offer for Sky plc at £12.50 per-share, or approximately £22.1 billion.^[65][66] 21st Century Fox owned a significant stake in Sky and was trying to take full control of it itself, ahead of its own acquisition by The Walt Disney Company. NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke stated that purchasing Sky would roughly double its presence in English-speaking markets, and allow for synergies between the respective networks and studios of NBCUniversal and Sky.^[67] On June 5, 2018, Culture Secretary Matt Hancock cleared both 21st Century Fox and Comcast's respective offers to acquire Sky plc. Fox's offer was contingent on the divestiture of Sky News.^[68][69] On June 15, 2018, the European Commission gave antitrust clearance to Comcast's offer to purchase Sky, citing that in terms of their current assets in Europe, there would be limited impact on competition. Comcast included a 10-year commitment to the operations and funding of Sky News.^[70][71][72] On July 11, 2018, Fox increased its bid for Sky to £14.00 per-share, valuing it at £24.5 billion. Comcast subsequently counterbid just hours later with an offer at £14.75 per-share, valued at £26 billion.^[73][74]

On September 20, 2018, the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers ordered that a blind auction be held "in order to provide an orderly framework for the resolution of this competitive situation". In this process, Fox, followed by Comcast, made new cash-only bids for Sky. After these first two rounds of bidding, there would be a third round where both companies could make new offers. However, the third round of bidding would only be binding if both companies make a bid.^[75] Comcast won the auction with a bid of £17.28 per-share, beating Fox's bid of £15.67.^[76][77] Sky plc had until October 11, 2018, to formally accept this offer.^[78]

Following its auction victory, Comcast began to acquire Sky shares from the open market. On September 26, 2018, Fox subsequently announced its intent to sell all of its shares in Sky plc to Comcast for £12 billion.^[78][79] On October 4, 2018, Fox completed the sale of their shares, giving Comcast a 76.8% controlling stake at the time.^[80] On October 12, 2018, Comcast announced it will compulsorily acquire the rest of Sky after its bid gained acceptances from 95.3% of the broadcaster's shareholders with the company being delisted by early 2019.^[81] Sky was delisted on November 7, 2018, after Comcast acquired all remaining shares.^[82]

While NBCUniversal and Sky still operate mainly as separate entities within Comcast, following the Sky takeover Comcast has begun the process of integrating some of NBCUniversal's international operations with parts of Sky. Among other moves, NBCUniversal's pay television channels in the United Kingdom will be folded with Sky's, and Sky Deutschland will become the parent company of NBCU's German networks.^[83]

Preparation of Peacock streaming service

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+.^[84] 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.^[85] On September 17, 2019, NBCUniversal announced the service would be called Peacock and is expected to launch in July 2020.^[86]

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.^[87]

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.^[88][89][90]

Vudu acquisition

In February 2020, it was reported that Comcast (via NBCUniversal) had entered talks into acquiring Vudu from Walmart.^[91] On April 20, 2020, Fandango (owned by NBCUniversal and WarnerMedia) announced that they would be acquiring Vudu.^[92][93] The acquisition was completed on July 6, 2020.^[94]

Restructuring and spin-off of certain assets

Following Jeff Shell's exit in 2023, NBCUniversal announced that corporate management will be led by a leadership team while Michael J. Cavanagh continues to oversee Comcast as a whole.^[95]

On November 20, 2024, Comcast announced that it will spin off most of its cable networks and selected digital properties into a new publicly-traded company, referred to under the interim name "SpinCo"; the spin-off seeks to separate the networks from businesses such as the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks and its divisions, Peacock, Universal Pictures, and Universal Destinations & Experiences, while providing them with the ability to make their own further investments and acquisitions.^[96][97] "SpinCo" will include networks such as USA Network, CNBC, MSNBC, E!, Golf Channel, Oxygen, Syfy, and Universal Kids, as well as digital properties such as Fandango Media and SportsEngine. NBCUniversal will retain Bravo, as the network is a major provider of content to Peacock.^[96]

Shares in "SpinCo" will be distributed to Comcast shareholders and trade independently thereafter; it will have the same share structure as Comcast, with Brian L. Roberts and his family holding a 33% voting share.^[96]

Questions have been raised over how the spin-off will impact the synergies between the networks and legacy divisions being retained by NBCUniversal (including in particular, the NBC News and NBC Sports divisions).^{[96][97][98][99]} When asked about the impact of the spin-off, NBC Sports president Rick Cordell stated that the division would "fulfill every obligation" it has with networks that are part of the spin-off (such as USA Network and Golf Channel), implicating they will still carry NBC Sports programming covered under current contracts (such as the Olympic Games and PGA Tour).^[100]