NBC Universal

NBC Universal, formerly the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) and Vivendi Universal Entertainment. NBC Universal is a media and entertainment company, jointly owned by General Electric Company and Vivendi Universal. NBC Universal was formed in May 2004 through the acquisition of Vivendi Universal Entertainment, a division of the French-owned Vivendi Universal, by General Electric. The transaction brought together a major U.S. television network, seven cable television channels, motion-picture and television production studios, and several theme parks. NBC Universal has its corporate headquarters in New York City.

NBC started experimental television broadcasts in New York City in 1930. In 1939 NBC launched daily television broadcasting with live coverage of American president Franklin D. Roosevelt’s comments at the opening of the New York World’s Fair. The network was acquired by the General Electric Company in 1986 with the purchase of NBC’s parent company, the Radio Corporation of America (RCA).

In the late 1980s NBC began pursuing a strategy of diversification, including the formation of two NBC-owned cable-television networks, CNBC and America’s Talking. NBC secured partial ownership of several regional sports channels and other cable channels, such as Court TV and American Movie Classics. In 1994 NBC began operating NBC Desktop Video, a financial news service that delivers live video to personal computers. In 1995 the company announced an agreement with the Microsoft Corporation to create MSNBC, an all-news cable television channel, using its subscriber base from its America’s Talking network. The joint venture also included establishing a companion news service, MSNBC Online, on the World Wide Web. NBC Desktop Video and America’s Talking were phased out.

In 2004 NBC was combined with Vivendi Universal’s entertainment division. Under the agreement General Electric owned 80 percent of the company, and Vivendi controlled 20 percent. The merger brought together one of the world’s leading television networks, the NBC television network, and Universal Pictures, a leading motion-picture studio.

Reviewed by: NBC Universal.