Brian Roberts - TVNewser

As Promised, Activists Criticize MSNBC at Comcast Shareholders Meeting

Alex Weprin — Thu, 16 May 2013 09:34:35 +0000

As they promised they would, activists took aim at MSNBC at the Comcast shareholders meeting, forcing CEO Brian Roberts to respond.

The Hollywood Reporter‘s Paul Bond has some of the details:

“If you sit back and think about it,” said Borelli, “why would a conservative person in any state want their money to go pay for Al Sharpton’s salary? Have you contemplated the damage that MSNBC and its biased coverage is doing to the overall Comcast business?”

Roberts didn’t buy the premise, given all of the distributors – Time Warner Cable, Dish Network, DirecTV, Verizon, AT&T – that carry MSNBC.

“Ultimately, I think, giving diversity of voices has been what cable has stood for all these years, whether it’s one side or another, so I don’t think in the long run it will change the trajectory of Comcast cable,” Roberts said.

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Comcast To Acquire Full Control Of NBCUniversal

Alex Weprin — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 16:55:02 +0000

Comcast will acquire control of 100% of NBCUniversal, buying General Electric’s 49% stake in the company for $16.7 billion. Comcast will also acquire the property that GE has at 30 Rockefeller Plaza and at CNBC’s headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey for an additional $1.4 billion.

By acquiring the property, it is likely that the GE logo that has adorned the top of 30 Rockefeller Plaza since 1988 will be replaced. Before being called the GE Building, it was known as the RCA building. According to CNBC’s Carl Quintanilla, Comcast will be getting the naming rights to the building in the deal.

“The management team at GE has been has been a wonderful partner during the past two years and their support has been very valuable,” said Comcast CEO Brian Roberts in a statement. “Our decision to acquire GE’s ownership is driven by our sense of optimism for the future prospects of NBCUniversal and our desire to capture future value that we hope to create for our shareholders.”

Comcast was expected to acquire full control of NBCU eventually, though the process was originally slated to begin in 2014. Now it appears the deal will be done in March.

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Nanny Accused of Fatally Stabbing Two Children of CNBC Executive

Chris Ariens — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 22:45:24 +0000

Crime scene tape stretches across 75th St at Columbus Ave.

New York City Police are investigating a brutal double murder on Manhattan’s Upper West Side tonight. The New York Daily News reports the victims are two of the children of Kevin Krim, a CNBC Senior VP and General Manager of Digital. The children, 6-year-old Lucia Krim and 1-year-old Leo Krim, were stabbed to death by their nanny, who then turned the knife on herself. The New York Times reports:

Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said that the mother, Marina Krim, had left her apartment a block from Central Park at 57 West 75th Street with one of her children, a 3-year-old girl. The two other children were left with the nanny, identified as Yoselyn Ortega, 50.

When Ms. Krim returned around 5:30 p.m., the commissioner said, she found a dark apartment. She went back down to the lobby to ask the doorman if he had seen the nanny and her children. When told that they had not left the building, she returned to the apartment. She turned the lights on in the bathroom and discovered her two children in the bathtub and the nanny unconscious on the floor.

Krim (right) joined CNBC in March from Bloomberg where he was head of Bloomberg Digital. More from the Times:

Ms. Krim had worked in California for a wholesaler of powders made from exotic fruits, like acai berries and pomegranates, according to her LinkedIn profile.

A neighbor said that in New York, Ms. Krim largely devoted her time to her children. This past year she taught a weekly early-childhood art class at the Hippo Playground Parkhouse on 91st Street.

> More: A joint statement from Brian Roberts, Chairman and CEO of Comcast, Steve Burke, CEO of NBCU and Mark Hoffman, CEO and president of CNBC:

A member of the CNBC family has suffered an unimaginable loss. The sadness that we all feel for Kevin, Marina and their family is without measure. Our thoughts, prayers and unwavering support are with them all.

“Today” show’s story Friday morning:

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These Are The Politicians Big Media PACs Donate Campaign Funds To

Alex Weprin — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 15:26:37 +0000

Media companies are some of the most active companies in the country when it comes to lobbying politicians. A big part of lobbying is donating money to political campaigns. With the DNC and RNC right around the corner, I thought it would be a good time to look and see which politicians the media companies have been donating to during the 2012 cycle through their PACs.

Some disclaimers: different companies donate different amounts of money through their respective PACs. Comcast gave over $2,000,000 this cycle, compared to CBS, which gave a relatively paltry $100,000. In addition, many of the recipients are, not surprisingly, members of the House and Senate committees and subcommittees that oversee media and technology businesses. All of the data was culled from OpenSecrets.org.

Comcast: The owner of NBCUniversal was by far the largest donor in the media space, giving over $2 million to politicians this cycle. It was also very even with regards to where it spent its money, giving $1.06 million yo Democrats, and $965,000 to Republicans. Most of the money went to party leaders in both houses, as well as committee members, and representatives in states where it has a large cable footprint. The CEO of Comcast, Brian Roberts, and the CEO of NBCUniversal, Steve Burke, both donated money to Democratic PACs and politicians.

News Corp: continued…

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Brian Roberts On The Comcast/NBC Relationship

Alex Weprin — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 11:24:30 +0000

Bloomberg Businessweek’s latest edition is the “Interview Issue,” and among those interviewed are Mitt Romney, Disney CEO Bob Iger and Comcast CEO Brian Roberts. Roberts was asked about the relationship he has with NBCUniversal, which is now owned by Comcast, and what role he plays in some of those decisions:

Do you get involved in decisions at the network level? If Savannah replaces Ann, do you make that call?

I knew about it ahead of time, but I do not make that call. I have tremendous confidence in [NBCUniversal CEO] Steve Burke, who worked 12 years for Disney (DIS) and 12 years for Comcast and grew up in broadcast television with his dad. [Daniel Burke was a former president and CEO of Capital Cities/ABC.] So I have the utmost confidence in Steve’s leadership and the team he relies on. I want all the key folks to know I’m involved and I care, but there should be one leader, and Steve is making those hard calls.

You can read more here.

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CNBC Looks at the Future of TV

Chris Ariens — Sun, 06 May 2012 10:24:43 +0000

As the TV networks, and increasingly online video networks, prepare to pitch their new shows to advertisers at the annual upfronts, CNBC is looking at the future of the industry. Monday night, CNBC’s Media and Entertainment reporter Julia Boorstin takes viewers inside the companies competing to shape the new connected-TV reality. MTV founder Tom Freston, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, CBS CEO Les Moonves, Disney CEO Robert Iger, even actor Ashton Kutcher all weigh in on the future of television.

“Stay Tuned…The Future of TV,” premieres Monday at 9pmET/PT on CNBC.

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NBCUniversal, Comcast Pledge to Hire 1,000 Veterans As Part Of ‘Hiring Our Heroes’ Initiative

Merrill Knox — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 16:17:07 +0000

NBCUniversal and Comcast have pledged to hire 1,000 veterans over three years as part of NBC News’ “Hiring Our Heroes” initiative.

“It’s clear that the leaders of tomorrow are the youth of today, and there’s no better youth of today than the people that have been fighting overseas and protecting our country,” Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts (right) told Ann Curry on “Today” this morning.

“Hiring Our Heroes” is a joint NBC News and U.S. Chamber of Commerce initiative focused on helping veterans and military spouses find employment. The “Today” show broadcast this morning from a job fair aboard the Intrepid, one of 400 hiring events that that NBC News has committed to hosting this year.

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At CPJ Gala, Dan Rather Criticizes Corporate Media, While Comcast CEO Brian Roberts Promises Journalistic Independence For NBC News

Alex Weprin — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 14:16:28 +0000

Last night the Committee to Protect Journalists held its annual gala at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York City. The bulk of the event was to honor journalists who risked their lives to cover the news, and along the way a few well-known faces showed up. In addition to the international award recipients, Mansoor al-Jamri of Bahrain, Javier Valdez Cardenas of Mexico, Umar Cheema of Pakistan and Natalya Radina of Belarus, former “CBS Evening News” anchor Dan Rather accepted a lifetime achievement award, while Comcast CEO Brian Roberts accepted his first public award since his cable company acquired NBCUniversal.

In his speech, Rather set his sights squarely on corporate media–of which Roberts is clearly a part– and sent a message to journalists to not forget their heritage. He was introduced by First Amendment lawyer James Goodale, who began by defending Rather’s report on former President George W. Bush‘s military service. “All the facts in that particular program were substantially correct,” Goodale said. “He was correct.”

Questions surrounding that report led to Rather’s departure from CBS News.

“As you know, we are living in an age when big money owns everything…including the news,” Rather said. “That cash bought a lot of silence for a long time. Enough time for unchecked power to get this country tangled into messes all around the world. We all know that money talks. But, so do the people…

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Pres. Obama Drops By Martha’s Vineyard Home of Comcast CEO

Chris Ariens — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 10:39:25 +0000

After golf and before his statement on Libya, Pres. Obama stopped by the Martha’s Vineyard home of Comcast CEO Brian Roberts. That’s the motorcade, right. Comcast is the majority owner of NBCUniversal. From the pool report, on Politico:

The presidential motorcade on Martha’s Vineyard peeled out of Blue Heron Farms at 5:15 p.m. with the president and Valerie Jarrett in tow. …Obama and Jarrett arrived at West Tisbury home of their friends, Brian and Aileen Roberts, spokesman Josh Earnest informs us. It was 5:30 p.m. Roberts is chairman and CEO of Comcast.

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Comcast CEO Brian Roberts Speaks Out on Bloomberg FCC Complaint, NBC News

Alex Weprin — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 14:02:04 +0000

At a breakfast discussion hosted by Fortune, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts addressed the FCC complaint filed by Bloomberg TV, as well as his thoughts on the state of NBC News.

Bloomberg filed a complaint with the FCC arguing that Comcast is not living up to the promise it made in order to complete the NBCU acquisition. Bloomberg argues that the “neighborhooding” clause means that in areas where Comcast currently places news channels together in a group, Bloomberg should be included. Comcast argues that the clause applies to future decisions, not prior ones.

Roberts–who appeared on Bloomberg from The Cable Show last week–briefly addressed Bloomberg’s complaint this morning:

“Whatever the condition was, it was set up based on market forces that pre-date the merger,” Roberts said. “Whether by choosing to merge that should cause us to disrupt a lot of consumers by putting [a channel] over here, move something over there or move that to somewhere else, it is the single most noisy thing to do. None of that was done with the kind of market conditions they potentially described.”

As for NBC News, Roberts reiterated previous comments he has made about how important that part of the company is in terms of brand equity. At the breakfast, however, he also argued that NBC News, MSNBC were a powerful business opportunity as well:

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MLB Rejects Frank McCourt's Deal With Fox

Marcus Vanderberg — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 17:55:56 +0000

The Los Angeles Dodgers suffered another setback Monday when Major League Baseball rejected a proposed Fox television contract.

Under the proposed $3 billion deal, owner Frank McCourt would have received $385 million upfront. The Dodgers have struggled to meet payroll all season and reportedly doesn’t have enough cash to meet his June 30 obligations. Below is the statement released by MLB regarding the proposed deal:

“Pursuant to my authority as Commissioner, I have informed Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt today in a detailed letter that I cannot approve the club’s proposed transaction with FOX. This decision was reached after a full and careful consideration of the terms of the proposed transaction and the club’s current circumstances. It is my conclusion that this proposed transaction with FOX would not be in the best interests of the Los Angeles Dodgers franchise, the game of Baseball and the millions of loyal fans of this historic club. continued…

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Couches, Cobi and Comcast at the Cable Show

Alex Weprin — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 12:15:47 +0000

The 2011 Cable Show is in full gear in Chicago, and as usual a number of high-profile TV news personalities are in attendance to moderate panels, host shows and sign autographs.

Fox News Channel’s Steve Doocy made an appearance at the Fox networks booth, where he signed miniature couches for guests (pictured right). Fox Business Network’s Lou Dobbs was also signing autographs earlier this week, though according to one report his Fox Soccer colleague Cobi Jones had the longer line.

CNN had Candy Crowley and Erin Burnett in town to sign autographs and moderate panels, while MSNBC’s Tamron Hall broadcast her program live from the show floor.

On CNBC, Becky Quick interviewed her boss, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, who was o the Cable Show floor:

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Media Meshes at Mirror Awards Ceremony

Alex Weprin — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 08:45:25 +0000

Photo Courtesy: Newhouse School

Yesterday the Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University held its fifth annual Mirror Awards ceremony, honoring the best in media reporting. You can read about the winners from FishbowlNY, here.

MSNBC hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski hosted the event, which also presented special awards to Foursquare co-founder Dennis Crowley and Comcast CEO Brian Roberts.

Scarborough opened up the event with a friendly jab at his former executive producer, Chris Licht, who was in the audience.

“Our connection to the Newhouse school is through our executive producer Chris Licht. We have found working with him through the years that not only do you teach your students how to get out there in the media world and do it better than anyone else, but we have to say the trait that you instill that really means more than any other is loyalty. Sticking together through the years no matter what. How is CBS Chris?”

Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes was to present the award to Roberts. The Comcast CEO was unable to attend as he was in Switzerland securing the rights to the 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020 Olympics for NBC. Bewkes took the opportunity to poke fun at his business partner… and now competitor:

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Scarborough, Brzezinski, Bartiromo Tapped For Hosting Duty

Alex Weprin — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 16:40:32 +0000

CNBC anchor Maria Bartiromo and MSNBC hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough have been tapped to speak at a pair of industry events.

Bartiromo will be the featured speaker at the Women in Cable Television (WICT) luncheon at the NCTA Show in Chicago this June.

Brzezinski and Scarborough will MC the Mirror Awards, which are presented by the S.I. Newhouse School at Syracuse University every year, honoring the best in media reporting. The pair will present the Fred Dressler Achievement Award to their new boss, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts.

More info on both events, after the jump.

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Which TV News People Should make The ‘Time 100′?

Alex Weprin — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 15:34:27 +0000

Time magazine has opened the polling for its 2011 “Time 100,” letting readers vote on who the 100 most influential people are this year.

Right now there are 203 candidates on the list, and only a small handful are from the TV news realm (assuming you don’t count Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert). Only one TV news personality is in the top 100 right now: Fox News host Glenn Beck, who is at #93 as of writing.

That means that at the moment, celebrity chef Jamie Oliver and indie band Mumford & Sons are more influential that anyone from the world of TV news, according to the Time poll.

What other TV news people are on the list?

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