Nbcuniversal

Releasing its earnings one day early because of the complexity associated with its new controlling interest in NBCUniversal, Comcast Corp. said Tuesday that it lost 39,000 cable-TV customers in the first quarter, the lowest subscriber loss in four years, and that its profits rose 9 percent, to $943 million. It was the second consecutive quarter in which the company substantially slowed the drain of cable-TV customers, which has become a worry of Comcast executives and analysts.

Spanish-language network Univision, with stations in just 26 of the nation's 200 or so TV markets, beat NBC's prime-time ratings during the February sweeps for the first time. The surprising win pointed out both the shifting patterns of TV consumption in the United States and the tenuous recovery at Comcast Corp.-owned NBC TV. "This is the new American reality," Cesar Conde, president of Univision Networks, said in a recent interview. "Univision is seeing consistent growth while our English-language counterparts are struggling with eroding audiences.

WASHINGTON - A top telecommunications regulator who voted to approve Center City-based Comcast Corp.'s takeover of NBCUniversal in January is leaving the Federal Communications Commission to join the company as a lobbyist. Meredith Attwell Baker, one of two Republicans on the five-member FCC, will become senior vice president of government affairs for NBCUniversal. Comcast said it did not begin discussions with Baker about a possible job until after the transaction had closed. Baker will leave the FCC on June 3, less than a month before her term was set to expire.

A Comcast Corp. regional sports network will assume sports coverage for an NBC TV station in northern California, the first case of the cable company's sports content replacing a traditional sports report at an NBC broadcast affiliate. NBCUniversal will examine whether similar synergies exist in other markets where it owns a local TV station and a regional sports network, including Philadelphia, where the company owns NBC10. Comcast, the nation's largest cable company, acquired 51 percent control of NBCUniversal in January.

Comcast Corp.'s NBCUniversal agreed to buy the 50 percent stake in two Universal Studios theme parks it doesn't already own from the private-equity firm Blackstone Group L.P. for about $1 billion. The transaction puts the overall value of the Orlando, Fla., parks at about $3.17 billion, Philadelphia-based Comcast said in a statement Monday. Blackstone, based in New York, paid about $275 million for its stake in 2000. Blackstone had set a June 12 deadline for NBCUniversal to buy its stake, after which the private-equity firm would have had 270 days to sell the entire operation.

While there's nothing illegal about a Federal Communications Commission member taking a job with a company whose multibillion-dollar merger she recently voted to approve, it probably wouldn't pass a consumers' sniff test. Meredith Attwell Baker, one of two Republican FCC commissioners, will leave the agency to become senior vice president for governmental affairs for NBCUniversal. The wife of the son of former White House chief of staff James Baker will be based in Washington and report to recently named Comcast/NBCUniversal president Kyle McSlarrow.

Battleship 's flop at the box office dragged on NBCUniversal during the second quarter, but Comcast Corp.'s cable division produced solid revenue and profit, with gains in business services and Internet subscriptions. Wall Street shrugged off the NBCUniversal news and sent Comcast's shares soaring 3.07 percent, up $1 at the close Wednesday, at $33.55 a share. "I'm here in London, and this is indeed an exciting time for all parts of the company," Brian L. Roberts, chief executive officer and chairman, said in a conference call with analysts Wednesday morning.

Amy Banse, a 20-year Comcast Corp. veteran, has been appointed to head the Comcast Ventures, the combined venture capital arms of Comcast and NBCUniversal. The $750 million Comcast-controlled fund will have offices in San Francisco, Philadelphia, New York and London. Banse, who had been based in Philadelphia, will relocate to San Francisco and focus on e-commerce, digital media and entertainment. She reports to Michael Angelakis, the chief financial officer. Banse previously ran Comcast Interactive Media.