The Los Angeles Times
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.
An amalgam of call-in public affairs programs, cooking shows and broadcasts of regional sporting events, CN8 once aired in 12 states from Maine to Virginia but was shut down because of low ratings, resulting in the loss of about 300 jobs.
The network was reconfigured into two smaller operations known as the Comcast Networks that serve Pennsylvania and the Maryland-Washington area. More…