Comcast Roundup: CBS affiliates rallying against NBC deal, Hulu gets ‘complex’ and More

Every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup. Get an e-mail subscription for our Comcast news updates.

DEFINITE READS

• The Wrap reports that CBS affiliates are raising concerns about the Comcast-NBC deal and its potentially to “competitively disadvantage CBS affiliates.”
• Comcast’s bid to take a majority stake in NBC Universal is part of an upward trend of bolder corporate deals moving away from the financial crisis, as the New York Times reports.

Below, why the Hulu situation is getting trickier still, why now you can watch the bikers race the Manayunk Wall from home and more.

• NBC Universal has reached the necessary agreements needed to finance its role with Comcast, as reported by Peter Key of the Philadelphia Business Journal.
• The New York Times reports on the FCC’s National Broadband Plan, which aims to providing nearly universal broadband service by 2020, likely much faster and more affordable than, say, Comcast or Verizon is now.
• AdAge reports on the “complex web of agendas” that streaming TV video site Hulu.com is facing, not least of all considering when it becomes partly owned by Comcast if the NBC deal is finalized.

MIGHT BE WORTH YOUR TIME

• A Business Insider reporter says she was “blown away” by test footage of the Masters golf tournament in 3D, brought by Comcast.
• A fund from Telecom Capital Corp. has acquired Baltimore firm Charles Street Partners, which owns small RCN Corp., which competes with Comcast in Delaware County and elsewhere, as reported by Joe DiStefano of the Inquirer.

GIVE A GLANCE

• Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia has signed a deal agreeing to offer live race-day coverage of the TD Bank Philadelphia International Cycling Championship for the next three years, PBJ also reports. That’s the famed bicycle race that ends with a fevered race through the hilly neighborhood of Manayunk, including the ‘wall.’
• DSL Reports that Comcast continues to roll out its usage meters to users, including to parts of Pennsylvania. H/T Philly Tech News
• The Comcast corporate blog offers a ‘community investment report,’ sharing the company’s philanthropic efforts.

When there is just too much Comcast news to follow, the Comcast Roundup will be there every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST.