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Does The FCC Hate Hulu?

  • MediaMemo, Friday, December 24, 2010 12:30 PM
Hulu is being threatened by a specific condition that Washington is proposing for the Comcast-NBC Universal deal, which would force the merged company to offer NBC's shows to any Web competitor.

"What does that mean for Hulu, which has already locked up exclusive rights to NBC's Web video?" asks MediaMemo. "Perhaps Federal Communications Commission head Julius Genachowski is trying to put a fork in Hulu."

Hulu's three co-owners, including NBC, Fox and ABC, all previously agreed to mutual exclusivity pacts. If users want to watch one of their shows for free online, they can see them on the networks' own sites, or via Hulu. "But one of the primary conditions Genachowski wants to place on FCC approval for the Comcast-NBC deal is that Web competitors will get access to NBC's shows," writes MediaMemo, citing reports in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

Writes The Journal: "Comcast would be required to offer NBC Universal programming to any online video provider that has reached a similar deal for content with some of NBC's competitors, such as Walt Disney Co. or Fox Television, a division of News Corp."

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