FCC chairman Julius Genachowski wants to push through approval for Comcast’s deal to acquire 51 percent of NBC Universal from General Electric, although it might still be a hard sell for the four-person committee’s two Democratic members. The Justice Department is also expected to weigh in in favor of the $13.75 billion deal, which won’t happen until January. The FCC is still hammering out its conditions, such as forcing Comcast to make NBC and other Comcast-owned video content available to pay-TV competitors on nondiscriminatory terms. The FCC is also expected to include demands from Level 3, the company that streams Netflix’s online video, and bar Comcast from prioritizing its own online video offerings over rivals. Comcast, which increased Level 3’s carriage fees last month, is likely to push back. At a muddled press briefing this morning, the FCC refused to make the exact regulations clear. So how do you think 30 Rock will play it? An episode where the ghost of Don Geiss inspires Jack Donaghy to help Kabletown get around these rules using the latest microwave-oven technology? Or just more digs at Philadephia?
