By Mercedes McCormick
Introduction:
After looking at 30 Rock as a valuable commodity of the powerhouse that is General Electric and Comcast, it’s necessary to examine what the components of ownership entail for the GE/Comcast combo. After all, if you’re consuming any type of media you should know who is behind the scenes pulling the strings (i.e. who has the money to make the calls), especially if it’s a particularly media-critical television show such as 30 Rock. This series is a product up for consumption and therefore it’s vital to be aware of who we’re really paying by becoming an avid viewer; keeping in mind the impact that the media big shots have on us little guys.
History of the Companies
General Electric
The elder of the two owners is General Electric, formed in 1892 under the guidance of Thomas Edison. GE has become one of the oldest and most well-known conglomerates, providing everything from kitchen appliances to television entertaining such as the feature of this blog.
Comcast Corporation
Comcast Corporation however, was formed in 1963 and was actually known as American Cable Systems for the first 6 years of its existence. Although Comcast primarily serves as an internet, television and telephone provider, it also has large stakes in several cable networks, distribution companies and other random sources of media, both small and large.
These two companies merged within the last year to share ownership of 30 Rock‘s home network, NBC Universal. But prior to the GE/Comcast merger, NBC Universal was produced by the earlier collaboration of General Electric’s NBC and Vivendi’s Universal.
Board of Directors
General Electric
GE’s board of directors has sixteen members, many of which are independent, meaning that they are not affiliated with the General Electric company in an executive position. Jeff Immelt however, serves on the board of directors and has also been the CEO for the last decade. A couple of the members on this board simultaneously work on other boards of successful companies, such as Wal-Mart, Dell Inc., Coca-Cola, and Verizon. This connection is interesting because knowing who is on several separate boards also shows who earns money from several levels of 30 Rock revenue. For example, in a situation such as Robert Lane’s, being a board member of both GE and Verizon benefits him from two angles when 30 Rock incorporates product placement for Verizon into the show.
Comcast Corporation
Comcast has a slightly smaller board of directors with thirteen members, and the CEO is Brian Roberts. The only member who sits on more than one other board is Judith Rodin, who is also on the board for Citigroup and AMR, both very lucrative companies.
How Much They Earn/What They Own
The sales revenue for General Electric has remained relatively steady over the last five years, only decreasing minutely, while their actual profit (gross income) has had a similar trend. Comcast has shown a more promising trend, with their revenue, cash flow and income all increasing by at least 3%, sometimes much higher. However both companies are incredibly stable, and Comcast’s profit of more increases than decreases in money could simply be due to its wide expansion in the last few years.
When it comes to what these two companies own, 30 Rock‘s home of NBC Universal is just one asset. GE and Comcast both own a plethora of either manufacturing, distributing, and/or media companies that serve as various assets and subsidiaries of the two. Consequently, whether it is GE who has been a household name even for the baby boomers or Comcast who is just recently growing to its enormous expansion, both companies have very big hands in what, where, and how we consume.
What Effects Will The Merger Have?
Now that Comcast has obtained the majority ownership of NBC Universal, the opportunity may arise to gain sole ownership of the media company by 2020. The outcome of that acquisition is not certain, seeing as GE and Comcast combined result in a lot of room for some prime vertical integration. Not only do both companies distribute media, but they can now join forces in aspects such as GE’s theme parks, both companies’ broadcast stations, and the use of Universal Studios.
Although there have been speculations and worries about the results of the merger, it has been pointed out that in general, vertical integration does not do much harm to the industry in comparison to its alternative, horizontal integration. Therefore, some are saying that by Comcast and GE using their combined subsidiaries to vertically integrate products, the outcome will not cause much harm to competition. Whether or not the outcome will disable competitors is up in the air until the merged companies begin affirming alterations within the media.
Criticism
As mentioned before, there have definitely been many that have doubted this giant merger since the very first discussion of it in 2008-2009. The main fears revolve around the mere size of the two companies by themselves, let alone when they are a duo. For instance, in 2010 Comcast angered thousands of customers when proposing to add an extra fee in order to use the streaming site under Comcast’s internet service. This was eventually shot down by the FCC, protecting Net-Neutrality, but the fear of this seemingly power-hungry company remains, and is certainly not soothed by its merger with an even larger conglomerate.
So, What?
In this case, the point of investigating giant companies in such depth is to find their inevitable relation to us little ol’ consumers. When looking at 30 Rock, you have to remember you’re also looking at NBC Universal, who originally came from Vivendi, and is now essentially General Electric and Comcast. All of these corporations have helped to bring us this comedy series, yet for how much money they bring in, the large profits end up in a small amount of hands. Unfortunately, no matter how funny it is to see Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey make corporate jokes and rub the company’s nose in their money-hungry strategies, at the end of the day these actors, as well as us consumers, are promoting the giants.
Sources
30 Rock: Comedy at its Finest 