Comcast Execs—Higher Programming Costs, Affil & Retrans Fees Expected

Following Comcast’s announcement to acquire the rest of NBCU for some $16.7bln, the firm’s financial chief Michael Angelakis called the price “fair” and “a very good deal” for both GE and NBCU during the earnings conference call Wed. Comcast is pleased with the price and how the transaction’s structured. Execs said they also expect programming expenses to increase at low double-digit rates, because of continued expansion of rights to multiple platforms, additional channel launches, continuing increases in sports costs, retrans fee increases and step-ups for recently completed long-term agreements. Read on for how Comcast plans to offset these costs.

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