Comcast Says NBCU Is Negotiating 'Full Freight' Internet TV Deals

Media company in talks with several online video distributors, according to MSO's report to FCC

By Todd Spangler, Multichannel News -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/1/2013 4:35:53 PM

NBCUniversal is in talks with several Internet video providers to license a full lineup of programming comparable to what it offers traditional pay TV providers, Comcast disclosed in its annual report to the Federal Communications Commission.

In the past year, "NBCUniversal received and is negotiating several 'full freight' requests," Comcast said in its second annual compliance report to the commission, filed Thursday.

Comcast declined to provide additional details on the negotiations.

Intel, for one, has publicly discussed plans to launch an over-the-top pay TV service in 2013 and says it has approached major programming providers. Others rumored to be developing a "virtual MSO" service include Sony.

The terms of the FCC's January 2011 approval of the Comcast deal for NBCU include a provision requiring the companies to offer video programming to "legitimate OVDs on the same terms and conditions that would be available to an MVPD [multichannel video programming distributor]."

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