Nbc Universal

Nora O'Brien, an NBC Universal program executive working on the series "Parenthood," died Wednesday after collapsing while on location in Berkeley. She was 44. The cast and crew of "Parenthood," a remake of the 1989 Steve Martin film, had taken an evening break from shooting and a few people, including O'Brien, were playing basketball, according to a friend. O'Brien said she felt dizzy and then she collapsed. She was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead, friends said.

The verdict is in, the jury has been dismissed, and Dr. Conrad Murray sits behind bars, but one question about the trial of Michael Jackson's doctor remains: Who paid for the defense? Speculation about how the cash-strapped physician funded an expansive legal team focused Wednesday on a British documentary made with Murray's cooperation and purchased recently by NBC for broadcast on its cable network MSNBC this weekend. Representatives of Jackson's estate demanded the network cancel the program, entitled "Michael Jackson and the Doctor: A Fatal Friendship," in part because of unanswered questions about whether Murray was compensated for giving filmmakers interviews and allowing camera crews to follow him and his lawyers.

In NBC's "Harry's Law," Kathy Bates stars as Harriet Korn, a bored, 60-year-old, pot-smoking patent lawyer who chucks her career out the window to take on lost causes and hard-luck cases at a storefront law firm in a rough-and-tumble Cincinnati neighborhood. Until two months ago, "lost cause" and "hard-luck case" were apt descriptions for "Harry's Law" itself. Although created by David E. Kelley, whose resume includes the hits "Ally McBeal" and "Boston Legal," "Harry's Law" was expected inside and outside NBC to be dead on arrival.

Comcast Corp., the largest U.S. cable company, posted a 16 percent increase in second-quarter profit after adding Internet users, boosting sales at its NBC Universal unit and reducing video-subscriber losses. Net income climbed to $1.02 billion, or 37 cents a share, from $884 million, or 31 cents, a year earlier, Philadelphia- based Comcast said today in a statement. Excluding some costs, profit was 42 cents a share, topping the 41-cent average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Comcast Corp.'s second-in-command, Steve Burke, will become chief executive of NBC Universal when the merger of the entertainment assets of Comcast and General Electric Co. is complete, the two companies announced Sunday. Burke, 52, will succeed Jeff Zucker, 45, who said Friday that he would step down when Philadelphia-based Comcast assumes control of NBC Universal, which is expected to happen late this year or early 2011. The two companies are awaiting the federal government's approval of their $30-billion transaction.

Comcast Corp. and General Electric Co. announced Sunday that Comcast's No. 2 executive, Steve Burke, would become chief executive of NBC Universal when the merger of the two companies is completed. Burke, 52, will succeed Jeff Zucker, who announced Friday that he would step down when Philadelphia-based Comcast assumes control of GM, which is expected to happen late this year or early 2011. Zucker will stay on for the next few months and work with Burke to attempt a smooth transition.

NBC Universal is relieved that its winter financial wipeout is finally over. Parent company General Electric Co. on Friday released its first-quarter results, which included, as expected, substantial losses generated by NBC's coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. Although GE posted a 32% drop in earnings, the company nonetheless beat analysts' expectations. GE Chairman Jeffrey Immelt said there were signs the economy was improving, along with the industrial giant's profit margins -- except for a couple of problem divisions.

Comcast Corp., the largest U.S. cable company, posted second-quarter profit and sales that beat analysts' estimates as more customers elected premium services such as digital video recorders and high-speed Internet. Profit, excluding costs related to the company's pending takeover of NBC Universal Inc., was 33 cents a share, on sales of $9.53 billion, Comcast said Wednesday. That topped the 32-cent average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Analysts predicted the cable operator's sales would be $9.28 billion.

Google Inc.'s ambitions to broaden its advertising reach beyond the Internet have been dealt a blow by the loss of its marquee media partner ? NBC Universal. NBC said Wednesday that it had stopped providing unsold commercial time from several of its cable channels to Google. Two years ago, Google's efforts to ramp up its television ad sales brokerage system received a substantial boost when NBC Universal became the first major TV programmer to sign on. NBC had been contributing time from its Syfy, Oxygen, MSNBC, Sleuth and Chiller channels.

When Comcast Corp. assumes control of NBC Universal, the company will inherit a portfolio of news organizations, including a top-shelf network news division that dominates the competition. Powered by the "Today" show in the morning and "NBC Nightly News" in the evening, NBC News is one of the few bright spots at the broadcast network. It's also one of the few aspects of the venture that will be largely new terrain for Comcast. Until now, the Philadelphia-based cable television operator's experience in news has been limited to running a handful of local television channels that produce newscasts, including the East Coast regional network CN8 until it shut down at the end of last year.

Business media conglomerate Bloomberg has accused Comcast Corp. of violating the conditions the federal government put on the cable giant in return for approving its merger with NBC Universal. In a complaint filed at the Federal Communications Commission on Monday, Bloomberg said Comcast is required to position its Bloomberg TV cable channel near other news channels on its cable systems, which reach almost 23 million subscribers. Bloomberg is worried that with Comcast as an owner, its chief competitor, CNBC, will now have an unfair advantage.

When it comes to the 2012 election, Donald Trump is so fired. During NBC's presentation of its fall schedule here on Monday, the real estate mogul and reality TV star announced that he will not make a bid for the White House, bringing an end to what many have regarded as a transparent publicity stunt. For the rest of America, this means two things: "Celebrity Apprentice" will be back next season, and the difference between politics and entertainment has never been so hard to define.

Comcast Corp. has made an offer to renew the contract of longtime Universal Studios chief Ron Meyer -- a potential vote of confidence that could quell speculation in Hollywood that his days in the job are numbered under the cable giant's new ownership. But the two sides have yet to reach an agreement. A key sticking point in the negotiations is how long Meyer's contract will be extended beyond its current expiration in 2012. Comcast was offering a shorter extension than the executive would like, according to a person familiar with the matter who requested anonymity because of the confidentiality of the talks.

Now that it has become a Hollywood powerhouse, Comcast Corp. will spend an extra $300 million this year for television programming to revive its newly acquired NBC broadcast network and keep the company's cable channels humming. NBCUniversal Chief Executive Steve Burke on Wednesday renewed Comcast's long-standing pledge to invest millions of dollars more for television programming than the media company's former majority owner, General Electric Co., had been spending. In late January, Comcast acquired a 51% stake in NBCUniversal and GE became a minority partner.

Cable giant Comcast Corp. got a rude welcome into the world of broadcast television. In unveiling its first financial results since closing a deal in late January to take a majority stake in NBCUniversal, Comcast on Tuesday reported strong earnings from its newly acquired cable networks — including USA, MSNBC and Bravo — but the broadcast network NBC had a tough first quarter. Overall, Comcast posted net income of $943 million for the three months ended March 31. That's a 9% gain compared with the same quarter last year.

After negotiating seriously with ESPN and Turner Sports, the NHL signed a new 10-year television deal that will keep games on NBC and Versus, where they have been for six years. The deal is worth $2 billion, according to two people with knowledge of the negotiations who could not speak publicly. In the expiring contract, Versus paid the NHL about $75 million per year. NBC, however, split profits with the league and paid no rights fees. That will change, although Dick Ebersol, chairman of the NBC Sports Group, declined to be specific Tuesday.

NBC Universal, beset by the continued slump in advertising and weaker performance of its movies, is no longer quite the profit star in General Electric Co.'s universe. Operating profit tumbled 41% to $539 million for the second quarter at the industrial giant's media division, which includes the NBC network; cable channels USA, Bravo and MSNBC; and Universal Studios and theme parks. NBC Universal contributed $3.

When Comcast Corp.'s Steve Burke assembled his new executive team for NBC Universal, he followed an old management maxim: If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Burke ? who will become chief executive of NBC Universal when the Philadelphia-based cable giant assumes control of the company, most likely early next year ? nonetheless will be spending a lot of time trying to fix one part of the sprawling media enterprise that is broken: the NBC broadcast network. "Turning around the broadcast network will be one of the top priorities," said Matthew Harrigan, media analyst with Wunderlich Securities.

In NBC's "Harry's Law," Kathy Bates stars as Harriet Korn, a bored, 60-year-old, pot-smoking patent lawyer who chucks her career out the window to take on lost causes and hard-luck cases at a storefront law firm in a rough-and-tumble Cincinnati neighborhood. Until two months ago, "lost cause" and "hard-luck case" were apt descriptions for "Harry's Law" itself. Although created by David E. Kelley, whose resume includes the hits "Ally McBeal" and "Boston Legal," "Harry's Law" was expected inside and outside NBC to be dead on arrival.

Comcast Corp., which last month acquired majority ownership of NBC Universal, may not be feeling the love for the Olympics. Long one of NBC's most prestigious properties, the Olympic Games have given the broadcasting company huge ratings, leverage when negotiating new deals with cable operators and sweeteners to attract marquee advertisers willing to pay hefty premiums. NBC's previous parent company, General Electric Co., also used sponsorship of the Games as a calling card, helping to open doors of commerce in China and beyond.