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NBCUniversal Media, LLC (abbreviated as NBCU and
doing business as A trade name, trading name, or business name is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is fictitious business name. Registering the fictitious name with ...
NBCUniversal or Comcast NBCUniversal since 2013) is an American multinational
mass media Mass media include the diverse arrays of media that reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit information electronically via media such as films, radio, recorded music, or television. Digital media comprises b ...
and
entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and Interest (emotion), interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but it is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have deve ...
conglomerate that is a subsidiary of
Comcast Comcast Corporation, formerly known as Comcast Holdings,Before the AT&T Broadband, AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, not th ...
and headquartered at
30 Rockefeller Plaza 30 Rockefeller Plaza (officially the Comcast Building; formerly RCA Building and GE Building) is a skyscraper that forms the centerpiece of Rockefeller Center in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York. Completed in 1933 ...
in
Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan, serving as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Building, the ...
in New York City. It is mostly involved in the media and entertainment industry, named for its two most significant divisions: the
National Broadcasting Company The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
(NBC)—one of the United States'
Big Three television networks From the 1950s to the 1980s, during the network era of American television, there were three commercial broadcast television networks – NBC (the National Broadcasting Company, "the Peacock Network"), CBS (the Columbia Broadcasting System ...
—and
Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...
, one of the major Hollywood film studios. It also has a significant presence in broadcasting through a portfolio of domestic and international properties, including USA, Syfy, Bravo,
Oxygen Oxygen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group (periodic table), group in the periodic table, a highly reactivity (chemistry), reactive nonmetal (chemistry), non ...
, E!,
Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast. It provides content ...
, Golf Channel,
CNBC CNBC is an American List of business news channels, business news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group, a unit of Comcast's NBCUniversal. The network broadcasts live business news and analysis programming during the morning, Day ...
, Universo, the streaming service
Peacock Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...
and ownership stakes in Snap Inc. and
Vox Media Vox Media, Inc. is an American mass media company founded in Washington, D.C. with operational headquarters in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in November 2011 by CEO Jim Bankoff and Trei Brundrett to encompass ''S ...
. Via its
Universal Destinations & Experiences Universal Destinations & Experiences (UDX), formerly Universal Parks & Resorts, is the theme park unit of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. The company, headquartered in Orlando, Florida, operates Universal theme parks and resort propert ...
division, NBCUniversal is also the third-largest operator of
amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...
s in the world. Since November 7, 2018,
Sky Group Sky Group Limited is a British media and telecommunications conglomerate owned by Comcast and headquartered in London. It has operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy. Sky is Europe's largest media co ...
, which holds European-only media and telecommunications interests, is also under Comcast's control alongside Comcast Business. NBCUniversal was created on May 11, 2004, as NBC Universal, Inc., when
Vivendi Vivendi SE (stylized in all lowercase) is a French investment company headquartered in Paris. It currently wholly-owns Gameloft as well as a number of investments in several companies, primarily involved in content, entertainment, media, and t ...
sold 80% of Universal Pictures to the now-defunct
General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...
, NBC's then-owner. The sale gave Vivendi a 20% stake in NBC Universal, while GE held the remaining 80%. Comcast attained 51% and thereby control of the newly reformed NBCUniversal in 2011, by acquiring shares from GE, with GE buying out Vivendi’s stake. Since 2013, the company is completely owned by Comcast, which bought the remaining 49% of the company from GE.


History


Early history

NBC and
Universal Television Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a division of NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#Universal Studio Group, Universal Studio Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which, in turn, is ...
had a partnership dating back to 1950, when Universal Television's earliest ancestor, Revue Studios, produced a number of shows for NBC, although Revue would have hits on other networks as well. This partnership continued throughout a number of name changes and changes of ownership.


Television

NBC Universal Television has its modern roots in a series of expansions undertaken by NBC, whose full legal name was National Broadcasting Company, Inc. In the late 1980s, NBC began pursuing a strategy of diversification, including the formation of two NBC-owned cable-television networks:
CNBC CNBC is an American List of business news channels, business news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group, a unit of Comcast's NBCUniversal. The network broadcasts live business news and analysis programming during the morning, Day ...
and America's Talking. NBC also had partial ownership of several regional sports channels and other cable channels such as American Movie Classics and Court TV (until 2007). In 1995, NBC began operating NBC Desktop Video, a financial news service that delivered live video to personal computers. The following year, NBC announced an agreement with
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...
to create an all-news cable television channel,
MSNBC MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...
(using its subscriber base from America's Talking network). A separate joint venture with Microsoft included establishing a news website, MSNBC.com (now NBCNews.com). In 1998, NBC partnered with Dow Jones & Co. The two companies combined their financial news channels outside the United States. The new networks included
NBC Europe NBC Europe (formerly Super Channel, and later NBC Channel) was a satellite television network based in the United Kingdom that broadcast across Europe, and it was picked up by various European cable television, cable systems where available. Th ...
,
CNBC Europe Consumer News and Business Channel Europe (referred to on air simply as CNBC) is a business and financial news television channel which airs across Europe. The station is based in London, where it shares the Adrian Smith (architect), Adrian S ...
, NBC Asia,
CNBC Asia CNBC Asia is a Singapore-based Business journalism, business news channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is a pan-Asian branch of the U.S.-based CNBC. The channel initially launched on 20 June 1997 out of Ho ...
, NBC Africa, and CNBC Africa. In 1999, NBC took a 32% stake in the Paxson group, operator of
PAX TV Ion Television (referred to on-air as simply Ion) is an American terrestrial television, broadcast television network and Free ad-supported streaming television, FAST television channel owned by the Scripps Networks subsidiary of the E. W. Scri ...
. Five years later, NBC decided to sell its interest in PAX TV and end its relationship with PAX owner, Paxson Communications. In 2001, NBC acquired the US Spanish-language broadcaster
Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast. It provides content ...
, that includes the
bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...
Mun2 Television for $1.98 billion. That same year NBC acquired the cable channel Bravo.


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 Vivendi SE (stylized in all lowercase) is a French investment company headquartered in Paris. It currently wholly-owns Gameloft as well as a number of investments in several companies, primarily involved in content, entertainment, media, and t ...
, which also owned
Blizzard Entertainment Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher based in Irvine, California, and a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard. Originally founded in 1991, the company is best known for producing the h ...
), decided to sell an 80% stake of itself to NBC's parent company,
General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...
(GE). The sale and resulting merger formed NBC Universal. The new company was 80% owned by GE, and 20% owned by Vivendi. The joint venture encompassed Vivendi's US film interests (such as
Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...
), NBC Universal Television Studio, NBC Universal Television Distribution, production and distribution units,
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Universal Pictures Home Entertainment LLC (UPHE) is the home video distribution division of Universal Pictures, an American film studio owned by NBCUniversal, the entertainment unit of Comcast. UPHE is the home video distributor for all of the ...
, Universal Studios Consumer Products Group, Back Lot Music (formerly NBC Records), as well as five theme parks, cable television channels including
USA Network USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...
, Sci-Fi Channel, the defunct Trio, Cloo (formerly Sleuth) as well as 50% stakes in Canal+ and
StudioCanal StudioCanal S.A.S. (formerly known as Le Studio Canal+, Canal Plus, Canal+ Distribution, Canal+ D.A., and Canal+ Production and also known as StudioCanal International) is a French film & television production and distribution company which is a ...
. The
Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...
was not included in the deal and is not part of NBC Universal. 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 Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
'' (with
DreamWorks Television DreamWorks Television was an American television distribution and production company based in Universal City, California, that was a division of DreamWorks. History DreamWorks Television was formed in December 1994 as DreamWorks Pictures ag ...
), ''
Crossing Jordan ''Crossing Jordan'' is an American crime drama television series created by Tim Kring, that aired on NBC from September 24, 2001, to May 16, 2007. It stars Jill Hennessy as Dr. Jordan Cavanaugh, a crime-solving forensic pathologist employed ...
'', and '' American Dreams''. Universal Network Television brought the ''
Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...
'' franchise and ''
The District ''The District'' is an American crime drama and police procedural television series that aired on CBS from October 7, 2000, to May 1, 2004. The show followed the work and personal life of the chief of Washington, D.C.'s police department. P ...
''—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 Gerald Norman Springer (February 13, 1944 – April 27, 2023) was a British-American broadcaster, journalist, actor, lawyer, and politician. He was best known for hosting the controversial tabloid talk show '' Jerry Springer'' from 1991 to 2 ...
'' and '' Maury''. Entertainment shows produced by the new group include '' The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'', ''
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of the '' Late Night'' franchise. Hosted by Jimmy Fallon,
'', '' Last Call with Carson Daly'', and ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
''. 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 A chiller is a machine that removes heat from a liquid coolant via a vapor-compression refrigeration, vapor-compression, adsorption refrigeration, or absorption refrigerator, absorption refrigeration cycles. This liquid can then be circulated th ...
, CNBC, CNBC World, MSNBC, NBC Universo, Syfy, ShopNBC (which became ShopHQ after NBCUniversal sold its stake in the network), Telemundo, Cloo,
USA Network USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...
, and the
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...
on cable). NBC Universal Cable also manages the company's investments in
The Weather Channel The Weather Channel (TWC) is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by Weather Group, LLC, a subsidiary of Allen Media Group. The channel's headquarters are located in Atlanta, Georgia. Launched on May 2, 1982, the channel ...
and
TiVo TiVo ( ) is a digital video recorder (DVR) developed and marketed by Xperi (previously by TiVo Corporation and TiVo Inc.) and introduced in 1999. TiVo provides an on-screen guide of scheduled broadcast programming television programs, whose fea ...
. 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.


Global expansion

In the early 1990s, NBC began its expansion throughout Europe by creating
CNBC Europe Consumer News and Business Channel Europe (referred to on air simply as CNBC) is a business and financial news television channel which airs across Europe. The station is based in London, where it shares the Adrian Smith (architect), Adrian S ...
and its long-time successful NBC Europe
Superstation ''Superstation'' (alternatively rendered as "super station" or informally as "SuperStation") is a term in North American broadcasting that has several meanings. Commonly, a "superstation" is a form of distant signal, a broadcast television sign ...
by broadcasting NBC Giga throughout Germany and the rest of the European Union. NBC Europe helped to develop the
Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
-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 Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Computer Co ...
to offer shows from all the NBC Universal TV networks on Apple's iTunes Store. In January 2006, NBC Universal launched a new cable channel, Sleuth, later rebranded as Cloo.Exclusive: Newly Rebranded Cloo TV Picks Up First Original Series
''TV Guide'' July 15, 2011
One year later after Sleuth's debut, NBC Universal announced that the company would launch a horror-themed cable channel,
Chiller A chiller is a machine that removes heat from a liquid coolant via a vapor-compression refrigeration, vapor-compression, adsorption refrigeration, or absorption refrigerator, absorption refrigeration cycles. This liquid can then be circulated th ...
, on March 1, 2007. 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 parts and creative genres." In August 2007, NBC Universal purchased Sparrowhawk Media Group and renamed it NBC Universal Global Networks. This acquisition gave NBC Universal all Hallmark channels outside the United States, plus the English channels Diva TV, Movies 24,
Hallmark Channel Hallmark Channel is an American cable television network owned by Hallmark Media, a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards. The channel broadcasts family-oriented general entertainment programming, including television series and made-for-TV movies. ...
and KidsCo. Later that fall, the company also acquired the Oxygen network in a separate $925 million deal. The sale was completed one month later. In the summer of 2008, NBC Universal,
Blackstone Group Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. It was founded in 1985 as a mergers and acquisitions firm by Peter Peterson and Stephen Schwarzman, who had previously worked together at Lehman ...
and
Bain Capital Bain Capital, LP is an American Investment company, private investment firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts, with around $185 billion of assets under management. It specializes in private equity, venture capital, credit, p ...
announced their intention to buy
The Weather Channel The Weather Channel (TWC) is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by Weather Group, LLC, a subsidiary of Allen Media Group. The channel's headquarters are located in Atlanta, Georgia. Launched on May 2, 1982, the channel ...
from
Landmark Communications Landmark Media Enterprises, LLC (a spinoff of Landmark Communications, Inc.) is a privately held technology company headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia. History The ''Norfolk Landmark'' was established in 1873. It had various editors. K. C. Murray ...
. The deal closed on September 12, 2008. Shortly after the acquisition completed, NBC announced that its 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. The summer of 2008 marked NBC Universal's first venture into the United Kingdom by acquiring English television production company Carnival Films. On November 12, 2008, NBC Universal acquired 80.1% of Geneon Entertainment from
Dentsu , simply known as , stylized as dentsu, is a Japanese international advertising and public relations joint stock company headquartered in Tokyo. Dentsu is the largest advertising agency in Japan and the fifth largest advertising agency network in ...
in Japan, merging it with Universal Pictures International Entertainment to form a new company, Geneon Universal Entertainment Japan. 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. The re-branding and name change took place on July 7, 2009. On August 27, 2009,
A&E Television Networks A&E Television Networks, LLC, doing business as A+E Global Media (formerly A+E Networks) is an American multinational broadcasting company owned and operated as a 50–50 joint venture between Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company th ...
(A&E) merged with Lifetime Entertainment Services (Lifetime), giving NBC Universal an equal share of both Lifetime and A&E with The Walt Disney Company and Hearst (media), Hearst. On October 20, 2010, NBC Universal-owned horror/suspense-themed cable channel Chiller (TV network), Chiller announced a major rebranding campaign incorporating a new logo and on-air look that launched on Wednesday, October 27, 2010.Chiller Announces Major Redesign
, ''TV By the Numbers'', October 20, 2010
Syfy and Chiller President Dave Howe said, "We have very ambitious plans to grow this network as a brand."


Ownership by Comcast (2011–present)

On December 3, 2009, after months of rumors, a deal was formally announced in which Comcast would buy a stake in NBC Universal from GE for $6.5 billion after the Corporate spin-off, spin-off of certain businesses, pending regulatory approval. Under the agreement, NBC Universal would be controlled with a 51% stake by Comcast and GE would retain the remaining 49%. The deal includes a provision under which Comcast must contribute $7.5 billion in programming including regional sports networks and cable channels such as Golf Channel, NBC Sports Network, Versus, and E!, E! Entertainment Television. GE used some of the funds, $5.8 billion, to buy out Vivendi's 20% minority stake in NBC Universal. Under the terms of the deal, Comcast reserved the right to buy out GE's share at certain times, and GE reserved the right to force the sale of its stake within the first seven years. Vivendi completed the initial transaction on September 27, 2010, selling a $2 billion stake to GE (approximately 7.66%). U.S. regulators approved the proposed sale on January 18, 2011, with conditions. Comcast would have to give up NBC control over online video site Hulu and ensure NBC Universal programming is available to competing cable operators. The company unveiled a new logo designed by Wolff Olins, which replaced a logo featuring the NBC peacock and an invocation of the Universal Pictures globe, with a wordmark. The company also began to stylize its name in CamelCase as "NBCUniversal" rather than "NBC Universal", to reflect the unity of its two main divisions. On January 26, 2011, Vivendi sold the remaining 20% of NBC Universal to GE, giving GE complete control of the company ahead of the completion of the sale of 51% of the company to Comcast on January 28, 2011. Comcast and GE formed the joint venture holding company NBCUniversal, LLC. NBC Universal, Inc. became a unit of Comcast and adopted the name NBCUniversal Media, LLC, on January 29, 2011. Comcast had planned to buy out GE's 49% stake over the following seven years, but ownership of NBCUniversal remained split at 51–49% for two years, until the announcement on February 12, 2013 that Comcast intended to complete the $16.7 billion purchase ahead of time all immediately. The sale was completed on March 19, 2013. The corporation on July 19, 2012, formed the NBCUniversal News Group with the NBC News, CNBC, and MSNBC divisions. That same year, Comcast sold their stake in A&E Networks to Disney and Hearst, making the company a 50-50 joint venture. In February 2013, NBCUniversal merged its two cable divisions, NBC Universal Cable Entertainment & Cable Studios, NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment & Cable Studios and NBCUniversal Entertainment & Digital Networks and Integrated Media, into one unit while moving out
Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast. It provides content ...
and Mun2 to a new division, NBCUniversal Hispanic Enterprises and Content. The move also created the corporate-level position of executive vice president in charge of digital ventures. In July, the company placed NBC Owned Television Stations, NBC TV Stations and
Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast. It provides content ...
's O&Os stations into a new division, NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations, with New England Cable News being transferred into NBC TV Stations. On April 28, 2016, NBCUniversal officially announced to acquire DreamWorks Animation for $3.8 billion. Universal Pictures took over the distribution for DreamWorks Animation films after its deal with 20th Century Fox expired. The sale was approved by board members, but was subject to regulatory approval. On June 21, 2016, the acquisition was approved by the United States Department of Justice. On August 22, 2016, the acquisition completed with DreamWorks Animation now completely owned by
Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...
. That allowed Universal rights to both DreamWorks Animation and Illumination (company), Illumination films beginning in 2019. The company later sold its stake in A&E to Disney and Hearst, making it a 50-50 joint venture. On February 28, 2017, NBCUniversal announced that it would acquire the remaining 49% stake in the Universal Studios Japan theme park that it did not own. On May 1, 2017, NBCUniversal announced that Universal Kids, Sprout would be relaunched as Universal Kids on September 9, 2017. Universal Kids would later cease operations in 2025.


Attempted buyout of 21st Century Fox assets and 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 American Broadcasting Company, 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 20th Century Studios, film and 20th Television, television studios, a 30% stake in Hulu, television assets FX (TV channel), FX Networks, National Geographic (U.S. TV channel), 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 Fox Sports 2, 2, Fox Deportes, and the Big Ten Network, all of which were Corporate spin-off, spun off into the "New Fox" company (later known as the Fox Corporation) run by the Murdoch family. 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." On December 14, 2017, Disney officially confirmed Acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney, 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. On April 25, 2018, Comcast launched its takeover offer for Sky (company), Sky plc at £12.50 per-share, or approximately £22.1 billion. 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 (businessman), 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. On June 5, 2018, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, 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. On June 15, 2018, the European Commission gave antitrust clearance to Comcast's offer to purchase Sky, citing that in terms of its 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. 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. 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. Comcast won the auction with a bid of £17.28 per-share, beating Fox's bid of £15.67. Sky plc had until October 11, 2018, to formally accept this offer. 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. On October 4, 2018, Fox completed the sale of its shares, giving Comcast a 76.8% controlling stake at the time. 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. Sky was delisted on November 7, 2018, after Comcast acquired all remaining shares. 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.


Preparation of Peacock streaming service

On January 14, 2019, NBCUniversal announced that it would launch an over-the-top streaming service to compete with Netflix, Paramount+, CBS All Access, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Apple TV+, HBO Max, and Disney+. A reorganization of the major direct reporting division was made. Bonnie Hammer was appointed chairman of NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, 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 Television Group, 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. On September 17, 2019, NBCUniversal announced the service would be called
Peacock Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...
and launched on July 15, 2020. In 2025, Comcast executives told investors that Peacock had grown a customer base of more than 41 million paid subscribers. 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. 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 Peacock, akin to ViacomCBS's utilization of Pluto TV.


Vudu acquisition

In February 2020, it was reported that Comcast (via NBCUniversal) had entered talks into acquiring Vudu from Walmart. On April 20, 2020, Fandango Media, Fandango (jointly owned by Comcast and WarnerMedia) announced that it would be acquiring Vudu. The acquisition was completed on July 6, 2020. Vudu was renamed Fandango at Home in 2024.


Restructuring and Versant spin-off

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. On November 20, 2024, Comcast announced that it would spin off most of its cable networks and selected digital properties into a new publicly-traded company led by Mark Lazarus. Initially referred to under the interim name "SpinCo", the company's name was announced as "Versant" on May 6, 2025. The company would then close Universal Kids on March 6, 2025. Versant will consist of properties such as
USA Network USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...
,
CNBC CNBC is an American List of business news channels, business news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group, a unit of Comcast's NBCUniversal. The network broadcasts live business news and analysis programming during the morning, Day ...
,
MSNBC MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...
, E!, Golf Channel, Oxygen (TV channel), Oxygen, and Syfy, as well as digital properties such as Fandango Media and SportsEngine; the aim of the spin-off is to separate them from NBCUniversal's flagship businesses, while providing them with the ability to make their own further investments and acquisitions. NBCUniversal will retain Bravo, as the network is a major provider of content to Peacock, while Telemudo's own cable operations remain unchanged. Lazarus explained that Versant was not intended as a consumer-facing brand, and will be treated as a holding company and "house of brands"; a larger focus will be placed upon its individual properties, and decisions on digital operations (such as streaming) will be left to each network. He did not rule out investments into non-media properties that could compliment and be cross-promoted with Versant's networks, citing examples such as the Golf Channel-owned course booking platform GolfNow. Shares in Versant 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. It will be headquartered at a new location in Manhattan. Master control for its cable networks will be based out of CNBC's studios in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, while Versant will lease additional space at NBC's existing Washington, D.C. facility at 400 North Capitol to serve as CNBC and MSNBC's Washington bureau. NBCUniversal will provide advertising sales for Versant channels for two years after the completion of the spin-off. 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. NBC Sports president Rick Cordell stated that the division would "fulfill every obligation" it has with networks that are part of the spin-off, suggesting they will still carry programming covered under current contracts (such as the Olympic Games and PGA Tour). On the other hand, Lazarus stated that Versant was considering pursuing its own sports rights, with a focus on properties that "drive distribution, diversify ad sales and have a value".


Notable people

* Michael J. Cavanagh, President,
Comcast Comcast Corporation, formerly known as Comcast Holdings,Before the AT&T Broadband, AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, not th ...
** Cesar Conde, Chairman, NBCUniversal News Group *** Rebecca Blumenstein, President, NBC News Editorial *** Luis Fernández, Chairman, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises *** Rebecca Kutler, President,
MSNBC MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...
*** Libby Leist, Executive Vice President, Today (American TV program), TODAY and Lifestyle *** Janelle Rodriguez, NBC News Executive Vice President of Programming *** Valari Dobson Staab, Chairman, NBCUniversal Local *** KC Sullivan, President,
CNBC CNBC is an American List of business news channels, business news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group, a unit of Comcast's NBCUniversal. The network broadcasts live business news and analysis programming during the morning, Day ...
** Kimberley D. Harris, Executive Vice President of Comcast Corporation and General Counsel of NBCUniversal ** Donna Langley, Chairman, NBCUniversal Entertainment & Studios *** Frances Berwick, Chairman, Bravo &
Peacock Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...
Unscripted *** Jimmy Horowitz, Chairman, Business Affairs & Operations, NBCUniversal Entertainment *** Pearlena Igbokwe, Chairman, Television Studios, NBC Entertainment & Peacock Scripted *** Liz Jenkins, Chief Business Officer *** Peter Levinsohn, Chairman, Global Distribution *** Jennifer Storms, Chief Marketing Officer, NBCUniversal Television & Streaming ** Adam Miller, Chief Operating Officer *** Deepak Arya, Executive Vice President of Corporate Strategy & Development *** Randy Culbertson, Chief Financial Officer *** Jen Friedman, Chief Communications Officer *** Ian Trombley, President, Operations & Technology *** Vicki Williams, Chief Human Resources Officer ** Craig Robinson, Executive Vice President, Chief Diversity Officer ** Matt Strauss, Chairman, NBCUniversal Media Group *** Rick Cordella, President, NBC Sports Group, NBC Sports *** Mark Marshall, Chairman, Global Advertising & Partnerships *** Matt Schnaars, President, Platform Distribution & Partnerships ** Mark Woodbury, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer,
Universal Destinations & Experiences Universal Destinations & Experiences (UDX), formerly Universal Parks & Resorts, is the theme park unit of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. The company, headquartered in Orlando, Florida, operates Universal theme parks and resort propert ...
*** Karen Irwin, President & Chief Operating Officer of Universal Orlando, Universal Orlando Resort *** Vince Klaseus, President, Universal Products & Experiences *** Tom Mehrmann, President, Chief Operating Officer, Pacific Rim *** Page Thompson, President, New Ventures


Assets


Libraries


NBCUniversal Film & Entertainment

* Universal Studios, Inc., Universal Studios **
Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...
film library *** Universal International Studios **** Carnival Films *** Universal Pictures Home Entertainment#Universal 1440 Entertainment, Universal 1440 Entertainment *** DreamWorks Animation **** DreamWorks Classics ***** United Productions of America, UPA library (excluding the Mr. Magoo (film), 1997 ''Mr. Magoo'' film, owned by The Walt Disney Company, Disney) ****** Several ''Godzilla'' films (under license from Toho) ***** Harvey Films library (excluding co-productions owned by third-party companies) ****** Famous Studios/Paramount Cartoon Studios library (post–October 1950 and pre–March 1962) ***** ''Noddy (character), Noddy'' ***** ''Olivia (fictional pig), Olivia'' ***** ''Felix the Cat'' ***** ''Where's Wally?, Where's Waldo?'' ***** ''Roger Ramjet'' ***** ''My Life Me'' ***** ''Voltron'' (under license from World Events Productions) ***** Worldwide distribution rights to ''OOglies'' (excluding UK television rights) ***** Worldwide distribution rights to ''Tracy Beaker Returns'' (excluding UK television rights) ***** Non-French licensing and distribution rights to ''The Owl & Co'' ***** Tribune Content Agency library ***** Western Publishing/Golden Books/Gold Key Comics/Golden Book Video library ****** Broadway Video's former family entertainment library ******* Tomorrow Entertainment library (pre-1974) ******** Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment, Rankin/Bass Productions (pre–September 1974) ******* Total Television library (excluding the Underdog (2007 film), 2007 ''Underdog'' film, owned by The Walt Disney Company, Disney) ****** Shari Lewis' two PBS series (''Lamb Chop's Play-Along'' and ''The Charlie Horse Music Pizza'') ***** CST Entertainment ***** Big Idea Entertainment ***** Entertainment Rights ****** Carrington Productions International ****** Link Entertainment ****** Filmation (excluding third-party licensed properties) ******* ''He-Man'' (He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, 1983 TV series and related He-Man & She-Ra: A Christmas Special, specials and The Secret of the Sword, films) and ''She-Ra'' (She-Ra: Princess of Power, 1985 TV series and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, 2019 TV series; under license from Mattel) ****** Ivor Wood#Woodland Animations, Woodland Animations ****** Wish Films, Tell-Tale Productions (excluding the rights to ''Tweenies'', owned by BBC Studios) ****** Sleepy Kids ****** Peter Maddocks, Maddocks Animation ****** Other programs formerly under Entertainment Rights that were produced by other production companies ***** Chapman Entertainment ***** Jay Ward Productions, Bullwinkle Studios (joint venture with Jay Ward Productions) *** Universal Animation Studios *** Illumination (company), Illumination **** Illumination Studios Paris **** Illumination Labs **** Moonlight *** Focus Features film library **** Good Machine **** Gramercy Pictures **** October Films **** USA Films **** Universal Focus/Universal Classics **** Savoy Pictures **** Focus World **** Rogue Pictures (pre-2010) *** Working Title Films **** WT2 Productions *** PolyGram Filmed Entertainment film library (post-March 1996) *** Castle Films/Universal 8 *** Amblin Partners film library **** Amblin Entertainment (only films released by Universal Pictures) **** DreamWorks Pictures film library (post-2016) *** Blumhouse Productions film library (minority stake; only films co-produced with Universal Pictures) *** Back Lot Music discography *** United International Pictures (50%) *
Peacock Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...
original films


NBCUniversal Media Group

* NBCUniversal Media Group#NBCUniversal Studio Group, NBCUniversal Studio Group **
Universal Television Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a division of NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#Universal Studio Group, Universal Studio Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which, in turn, is ...
library *** Revue Studios *** NBCUniversal Syndication Studios#MCA Television/Studios USA Domestic Television, MCA TV **** Universal Television#MCA Television Entertainment, MTE *** Multimedia Entertainment *** Universal Television#Studios USA Television, Studios USA Television *** Universal Television#PolyGram Television/Universal Network Television, PolyGram Television (post-1996) *** Universal Television#USA Cable Entertainment, USA Cable Entertainment *** Wolf Entertainment *** Universal International Studios **** Heyday Television (joint venture with Heyday Films) **** Chocolate Media **** Lark Productions **** Lucky Giant **** Monkey Kingdom **** Matchbox Pictures **** Carnival Films *** EMKA, Ltd. **** Paramount Pictures film library (1929–1949) (excluding ''Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931 film), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'', owned by Warner Bros. via Turner Entertainment, Turner Entertainment Co., ''The Story of Temple Drake'', owned by The Walt Disney Company, Disney via 20th Century Studios, and six Paramount films (''The Buccaneer (1938 film), The Buccaneer'', ''The Miracle of Morgan's Creek'', ''Sorry, Wrong Number'', ''Bride of Vengeance'', ''Rope of Sand'' and ''My Friend Irma (film), My Friend Irma''), owned by Paramount itself) *** Working Title Films#Television division, Working Title Television ***
Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast. It provides content ...
originals **** Telemundo of Puerto Rico Studios **** Telemundo Studios ***** Telemundo Global Studios ***** Telemundo Streaming Studios **** Underground Producciones **** Telemundo Films *** Amblin Television (excluding co-productions with other companies) ****
DreamWorks Television DreamWorks Television was an American television distribution and production company based in Universal City, California, that was a division of DreamWorks. History DreamWorks Television was formed in December 1994 as DreamWorks Pictures ag ...
(post-2008) (excluding co-productions with other companies) *** Universal Television#NBC Studios (production company), NBC Studios (''In the House (TV series), In the House'' and ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' are distributed by Warner Bros. Television Studios due to a pre-NBCU syndication deal) **** NBC Enterprises **** SNL Studios (joint venture with Lorne Michaels) *** NBCUniversal Media Group#NBC Entertainment, NBC Entertainment *** NBC International *** DreamWorks Animation Television *** Universal Content Productions *** Universal Television#Universal Television Alternative Studio, Universal Television Alternative Studio * NBCUniversal Media Group#NBCUniversal News Group, NBCUniversal News Group ** NBC News ***
CNBC CNBC is an American List of business news channels, business news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group, a unit of Comcast's NBCUniversal. The network broadcasts live business news and analysis programming during the morning, Day ...
***
MSNBC MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...
*** NBC News Studios **** MSNBC Films *** NBC News International *** Peacock Productions *
Peacock Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...
originals * USA Cable Entertainment library ** Syfy originals ** Bravo originals ** E! originals *** E! Studios **** Wilshire Studios ** Oxygen (TV channel), Oxygen originals ** Universal Kids originals ** G4 Media (TV company), G4 Media *** Style/Esquire Network originals ** Chiller (TV network), Chiller originals ** Cloo originals *** Trio originals (post-2000) ** Fearnet originals (excluding series produced by Sony Pictures Television and Lionsgate Television) * Seeso originals * Sky Vision


See also

* List of conglomerates *
Comcast Comcast Corporation, formerly known as Comcast Holdings,Before the AT&T Broadband, AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, not th ...
*
General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...
* Vivendi, Vivendi Universal


References


External links

* {{Authority control NBCUniversal, 2004 establishments in New York City 2011 mergers and acquisitions American companies established in 2004 Comcast subsidiaries Comcast Companies based in Los Angeles County, California Former General Electric subsidiaries Former Vivendi subsidiaries Former joint ventures Mass media companies based in New York City Mass media companies established in 2004 Universal City, California