• by Wayne Friedman , July 14, 2008

On the surface, it appears NBC got through the writers strike relatively unscathed. Earnings results in the second quarter are on par with a year ago.

NBC has posted a scant 1% rise in net profit at $909 million on rise of 7% in revenues to $3.8 billion. But earlier in the year, parent General Electric predicted much better results -- 10% in revenue and profit gains of 5%.

Analysts say an iffy economy and the effect of the writers strike on the NBC network, coupled with a slow TV local advertising market for its stations, put a crimp in plans.

NBC may be a current problem for General Electric, analysts say. But it's all part of larger domestic woes. GE said second-quarter earnings fell 6% from a year ago because of a slowdown in U.S. consumer spending, in light of a hurting housing market and inflation.

All this has GE considering a sale of its assets -- but not NBC. During the earnings call, GE chief executive Jeff Immelt repeated interest in GE spinning off its longtime appliance and consumer products and industrial divisions.

For some time, analysts have speculated General Electric was considering selling NBC, given its languishing financial status, especially at its marquee NBC broadcast network. One report cited claimed GE would look to unload NBC after this summer's Beijing Olympics.

But Immelt and Jeff Zucker, president and CEO of NBC Universal, has repeatedly denied such reports. Zucker points to earnings and revenue growth at its cable networks, which represents more than half the company's earning power.

"In the last 12 months, GE has been incredibly supportive," Zucker told the Associated Press. "I think it'll hold up pretty well for us, and the flip side is that we're making acquisitions."

On Sunday, NBC agreed to pay $3.5 billion to acquire The Weather Channel from Landmark Communications. In October, NBC paid about $875 million for women's cable network Oxygen.

NBC Universal says it is on target to gross more than $1 billion in national advertising sales from the Summer Olympics in Beijing.