Comcast (Nasdaq:CMCSA) Now Majority Owner of NBC Universal (NYSE:GE)

The FCC in a 4-1 vote, and the Justice Department, both gave approval for Comcast (Nasdaq:CMCSA) to acquire a 51 percent stake in NBC Universal (NYSE:GE).

Comcast is acquiring the 51 percent stake from General Electric for $13.8 billion in assets and cash.

The deal had numerous caveats which Comcast and NBC Universal will have to abide by. The vast majority of them deal with the preservation of competition from the massive authority in the market Comcast will now enjoy.

On the side of Comcast, Executive Vice President David Cohen said the conditions included with the deal won't "disadvantage the competitive positioning of the Comcast Cable or NBC Universal businesses."

The majority of the conditions associated with the deal will be in place for a period of seven years.

Comcast closed at $22.78, up $0.06, or 0.26 percent.

Comcast (Nasdaq:CMCSA) Wins FCC Approval to Acquire NBC Universal (NYSE:GE)

Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq:CMCSA) announced today they've cleared one more hurdle in their quest to acquire majority interest in NBC Universal from General Electric (NYSE:GE).

Two unidentified agency officials said the FCC voted 4-1 for the deal to be allowed to go forward. The deal still has to be cleared with the Justice Department in order to win final approval to go ahead.

Along with the NBC television network, Comcast will also get with the deal cable channels, broadcast stations and a 4,000 plus library of movies. NBC also holds a stake in the increasingly popular Hulu Internet video services, which Comcast would inherit with the deal.

Concerns over whether or not Comcast will release NBC shows on the Internet, along with the idea Comcast could hold back their high-speed customers from having access to content outside of Comcast's control has weighed on the deal.

Comcast's (Nasdaq:CMCSA) NBCU (NYSE:GE) Deal Pushed OUt to 2011

The attempt by Comcast (Nasdaq:CMCSA) to acquire NBCU from General Electric (NYSE:GE) won't happen in 2010, said the cable giant, as the regulatory process has bogged down and they'll have to wait for the deal to close in 2011.

There's really nothing surprising about this, although if there had been a 2010 deal, it probably would have given Comcast's share price a nice boost.

Originally the deal was expected to close before the end of the year, but as time dragged on it was obvious that wasn't going to happen.

Comcast said, "We have notified our transition teams that there will not be a December 31 closing. We believe the regulatory review puts us on track for a closing in January 2011."

Comcast closed Wednesday at $22.20, down $0.05, or 0.22 percent.