so comcast is the u.s.'s largest cable operator, also sells internet connections and broadband, but that business is maturing. people have television service. by some measures the number of people who are subscribing to pay t.v. service is even falling. so it's an older business, it faces new competition from internet rivals. for comcast, nbc is a lot of new content. it's some new businesses that are making a lot of money but it's also the opportunity to differentiate their pay t.v. service to fend off competitors. >> suarez: it's been about a quarter of a century since g.e. bought nbc. why was g.e. once such a dominant network... why was nbc which was once such a dominant network ripe for being purchased by somebody else? >> well, nbc is quite a large business. nbc universal. and it's has parts of the company that are doing very well like the cable networks. the broadcast network is not doing very well. you know, it's fourth in prime time, it's lost a lot of its luster. this is not necessarily a big part of

for instance, comcast filed this merger with us on january 28th of last year. we have an internal shot clock of 180 days for review. now, this is a big merger, and it should be thoroughly vetted, and we should absolutely carefully consider it, but with i think we need to do it in a more timely manner. as far as the conditions go, let's just take one, for instance, broadband deployment. now, you know that i've been involved in the policy area for the last eight years really with the main goal as broadband deployment. but we have under conditions forced comcast to build out to 400,000 households broadband. while this may be an exciting move, it seems to me nowhere is there a nexus between a merger between a programmer and a distributer that causes us to force them to build out broadband to households. so i think it's just illustrative of the leverage that we have over these companies that are petitioning us. let's take one more, for instance, condition that we have, one that i think is pertinent to the merger, and that is online video. now, the danger is that com

comcast gets a green light to take over nbc. agreeing to pay $14 billion for a controlling interest in nbc's parent company. both justice department and fcc gave approveal today with conditions. comcast must make nbc programming available to competing services and to companies like net flix and apple. and comcast takes over not only nbc but telemundo, cnbc, bravo and oxygen. 26 local tv stations as well, including kntv and universal pictures movie studio and theme parks. they own e entertainment, the golf channel and regional sports channels. and they will be required to continue to provide high speed internet service whether or not you subscribe to comcast cable oo. the troubled cruise ship splendor is headed to san francisco to undergo repairs. and it's going to be repaired in a dry dock. the port officials untibl say how many new jobs might be created but did say it will mean thousands of hours for local ship yard work years no doubt, that is a big job. >> michael finney is coming up next. >> tonight why a woman who bought am

comcast this week due to close on its purchase of nbc universal. comcast knows sports, it owns the philadelphia 76ers and flyers. what does it need to do to make a run after espn and disney. >> to do exactly as they are doing. they have 11 regional cable networks versus the golf channel and nbc has the nfl and nhl a fairly formidable combination if they get together. >> tom: comcast and disney both are shareholders of-- nice returns over the past year, 40% and 30% respectively. what does espn need to do to defend itself. >> they have that one family of networks, you have now comcast, nbc and fox. i think what will happen is they all will be incredibly competitive in the years ahead which is really good for the viewers. you've got three juggernauts, not just two. >> tom: we always appreciated it, rick horrow the c.e.o. at horrow sports ventures. >> susie: so tom, from the excitement of football and super bowl to the excitement of what was going on here at the new york stock exchange and watch wag was going on with the dow and some strong earnings du

and comcast won government approval to take over nbc universal in a joining of two media giants. and that's the newshour for tonight. we'll see you online, and again here tomorrow evening. thank you, and good night. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> oil companies have changed my country. >> oil companies can make a difference. >> we have the chance to build the economy. >> create jobs, keep people healthy, and improve schools. >> and our communities. >> in angola chevron helps train engineers, teachers and farmers, launch child's programs. it's not just good business. >> i'm hopeful about my country's future. >> it's my country's future. and by united healthcare. bnsf railway. and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century. and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning

and comcast won government approval to take over nbc universal in a joining of two media giants. and to kwame holman in our newsroom, for what's on the newshour online. kwame? >> holman: we debrief betty ann on the week ahead for the health care reform debate on capitol hill. paul writes about inflation worries in china on his making sense page. margaret is filing blog posts from seoul. all that and more is on our web site, newshour.pbs.org. >> ifill: and that's the newshour for tonight. on wednesday, we'll look at chinese leader hu jintao's visit to washington. i'm gwen ifill. >> lehrer: and i'm jim lehrer. we'll see you online, and again here tomorrow evening. thank you, and good night. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> oil companies have changed my country. >> oil companies can make a difference. >> we have the chance to build the economy. >> create jobs, keep people healthy, and improve schools. >> and our communities. >> in angola, chevron helps train engineers, teachers and farmers, launch child's programs. it's not just good business. >> i'm hopef

from the heritage friends level, at&t, comcast, and ecology, u.s. and from the heritage he tends level, day crossing and bills and, for all those heritage level sponsors, come on -- one big giant thank you. thank you, thank you, thank you. [applause] and now, i want to say -- it is my business, so you have to really help me thank them. our media sponsors. and our media sponsors, i want to say special thanks to abc7, comcast, once again, inquire.net, sfgovtv, the sense francisco examiner, world channel, and am 1400. please help me bank of the media sponsors. [applause] now, please help me welcome the woman who is an incredible force, the woman who had the vision to bring this together, to bring us all together -- she is the founder and chair of the apa heritage celebration committee. come on out, claudine. [applause] >> welcome to the 2010 celebration of asian pacific american heritage month. on behalf of the celebration committee, all the names are here. which includes representatives from city officials and executives from over 10 @ nicholas in the

. >>> comcast will take over nbc universal and pay nearly $14 billion for 51% stake. the federal communications commission to attach some limitations. they must make nbc programming available to its cable competitors and to legitimate internet cable providers. comcast must also give customers the option of buying high-speed internet service separate from cable tv. >>> there may be a solution tonight to a problem we have been telling you about concerning beachfront homes pay the owners are concerned that the coastal bluff is crumbling away and whopper honda met with experts at the scene to try to find an answer. >> reporter: the river runs through rio delmar beach. >> as you can see it comes down and can do some serious undermining. >> reporter: people say the river causes other hazards as well, pollution and a new clip. >> there is about a 12-foot drop out there and people are blocky and did not realize as soon as they stepped near the edge they can ball down. >> reporter: they want a path to guide to wander into the ocean but were turned down because of the impact on

go every night at 10:30 only on comcast sports net, bay area. they're sure to be talking a lot about stanford, luck staying, is he really going to pass up that miami money? where is this going? >> didn't they say luck was making this decision? i know you said insured. but a $50 million decision, that was the money he was passing up to stay at stanford. >> the money will still be there in some regard. whether it's all up front or guaranteed as it has been for the matthew staffords of the world. that will be the question. the nfl money will be there. he could very well be the topic moving forward in 2012. >> good for him. >> thank you. >>> his story posted on the facebook pages of user ace cross the country. the homeless man with the golden voice, up next. the emotion aal reunion with hi mo >>> it's advertised as a safe and effective way to have your dog or cat's teeth cleaned. no anesthesia, no pain no, worries, no problem except one, it's against the law. why is the state vet boardal loug it to happen? we investigate tonight at 11:00. should you

comcast can take control of nbc universal. the fcc and the justice department both approved the $14 billion deal today, with conditions. comcast must set aside channels for independent programmers, and keep nbc shows on free over-the- air stations. it also must follow open internet rules and give up management of the video web site hulu. two men have been charged in an alleged attack on at&t's computer system last summer. new jersey's u.s. attorney's office says the men stole personal information and email addresses for 120,000 users of apple's ipad. still ahead, tonight's "word on the street"-- toys, and the impact of movies like "toy story 3" may have on toy maker stocks. >> susie: president obama continues to court the business community, and ordered today a review of all government regulations. he wants to make sure the rules aren't holding back economic growth. he's asking agencies to look at the cost of regulations and how they affect small businesses. the government is knee-deep in writing hundreds of new rules, from la

comcast, which is expected to close the deal next week, said in a statement it has no operational control at any of nbc's properties, including msnbc. late friday, msnbc host rachel late friday, msnbc host rachel maddow, olbermann's liberal protege, said she knew little of what happened. >> all i know is it was between keith and the company. >> reporter: observers say maddow is now the heir apparent. >> she's next generation at msnbc, she's in her 30s and able to carry the ball forward. >> olbermann was reportedly in the middle of a four-year, $30 million contract. it's not clear what his next move will be. msnbc announced liberal host lawrence o'donnell will be taking over the 8:00 p.m. time slot. russ. >> mitchell: in much of the country, if you stepped outside today, you know it is brutal out there. bitter cold weather is making this an icy weekend from the midwest to the northeast. take a look at these numbers-- in minneapolis, it's going to be in minneapolis, it's going to be eyewitnesminus 9 tonight. in detroit the low was 5 today, and buffalo, new york, this evening will have snow

the fcc says they could sign off on the comcast/universal deal as soon as today. they would file suit thereafter. comcast and nbc are going to agree on posting online videos. we'll watch that closely today. and "the washington post" is reporting that banks are tucking in targeted advertising in your online bank statements. so think of it this way. that charge isn't just made for a mcdonald's breakfast but it could be followed by a pop-up to say get 10% off your next meal at the golden averages. instead of printing something out you click on it and it comes automatically off your next debit card swipe at mcdonald's. consumer groups are up in arms saying this is an invasion to their property with access to their information. >>> starbucks believes bigger is better. the coffee giant is expanding the rollout of the biggest drink yet, a 31-ounce trenta. yes, trenta. it starts today. the new cups are available in 14 states and will be nationwide by early may. and you are already salivating over this. the trenta is only for iced drinks. it costs 50 cents more than the ve

you also like comcast in the news as it closes at midnight tonight as it closes on nbc universal. you're still looking to put money to work here, huh? >> yeah. i think if you look at comcast, i mean, obviously, it looks like-- in retrospect that they bought nbc potentially at a very good time. you're seeing recovery as their g.e. subsidiary in the fourth quarter, and a combination of owning the pipe, the distribution pipe, and the content in an era where the consumer may be wounded but they're not dead. rumors of consumer death have been greatly exaggerated. they're still there. they're still spending. i think you're going to see strong demand. >> tom: september 11, 2009, is the last time you joined us. you liked a couple of financials. goldman sachs off since then. wells fargo saw a nice pop 16%. do you still like he's two financial juggernauts is this. >> we think that the firms that survived the financial crisis and were able to build out market share are going to benefit in the recovery and beyond. we think these-- those are two firms specifically well positioned to do so. >>

comcast closed the deal after a yearlong review.gives comcast a 51% stake in nbc universal while ge retains 41%. it contains the universal parks in the united states and japan. >>> hollywood's award season continues tonight. the fox hit show glee is nominated for the top comedy honor. and chris crawford and james lynch is also nominated in the best actor and actress category. >>> it was a surprise win last night for film director tom hooper. he won for his british tale the king's speech at the director's guild of america award. hooper was up against david fincher for the social network. and the two are going to go head to head again at the oscar where the king's speech leads with 12 nominations. >> today is the second day of open auditions in san francisco for extras for a big hollywood movie. and it is about a spread of a deadly infectious disease. some people said they wanted to audition because they thought it would be a fun way to go out and earn a few extra buck. >> a lot of them are younger than me. there aren't that many olde

comcast must a local you nbc programming on rival competitors, satellite and video services. >>> it is kind of like a show, any time al davis summons the raiders, it is must-see tv. >> that was kind of the scene today as the owner of the raiders introduces his new coach. >> i tell you, this was one of the rare opportunities for the raiders owner to open up on a variety of topic. you know, he's 81 years old. he turns 82 this july and his passion is undeniable. let's show you the scene today as hue jackson was named the new head coach. not at all as splashy as jim harbaugh was celebrated at the palace hotel several days back, but here's the deal. tom cable perhaps tried, but hue jackson understands not only is this al davis' business, it's his baby, it's his life, and above many things, he's a football man. hue jackson impressive today at embracing the fact that hue jackson is, in many ways, a coach. he even called him coach davis. >> i know people wonder why i call him coach, because i can talk x's and o's. i can't talk to many people about running a power play. >> we have hat we have t

if you are a comcast subscriber, you can watch cable television o your tablet. it's a little bit weird in the sense that comcast said it will only work on your home wi-fi and not on somebody else's wi-fi. that has to do with complicated licensing and copyright deals. we should point out that we are nbc universal in a deal to be performed or merged with comcast. i like to point out any sort of corporate stuff as we talk about. >> i want to know if we are getting free cable. >> me too. >> check the congestion. a lot of it is with mike. >> highway 4 and mike. >> antioch, we have the slowing and speeds in spots that make things bad coming off of the -- mike down. fog in through the area off the rio vista bridge and a slow drive and much more extensive than yesterday. we see the slowing showing up at bay point as well. that will be an issue and the fog coming through concord off the interchange. you may find patchy fog as well. coming out of the pass, slow driving continuing on towards north flynn with an earlier accident. that moved to the side of the road. we have

federal regulators approved the purchase by comcast of a majority stake in nbc universal from general electric. as part of the approval, the justice department will require nbc to give up management rights to online video service hulu. and the fcc imposed a list of conditions meant to assure comcast deals fairly with rival programmers. this merger will create a $30 billion media company with cable, broadcast, internet, motion picture and theme park components. the deal is expected to close by the end of the month. >>> when our broadcast continues in just a moment. a teenager vanishes into thin air while visiting relatives in baltimore with no clues and very little attention. >>> a kennedy by marriage, a public servant by trade. remembering the sarg. the death today of sargent shriver. it can be the side effect of many medications. dry mouth can be frustrating... and ignoring it can lead to... sipping water can help, but dentists recommend biotene. biotene moisturizes and helps supplement some of saliva's enzymes, providing soothing relief when you need it most. don't ignore dry mouth.

we would like to recognize broadcast partners knbr 680, the sports leader, comcast sports net bay area and nbc bay area, who bring giants baseball to our fans all season long and who have made it possible for today's event to be watched by giants fans throughout northern california. now, everyone, let's get this show on the road. let's get this party started. it is my great pleasure to introduce two members of the best broadcast team in all of baseball -- please welcome dave fleming and john miller. [applause] >> thank you for that. i always thought that this must be what it is like to be code, to go out to st. peter's on the balcony, and go out and there's hundreds of thousands of people, so i would like to bless you all -- i always thought that this must be what it is like should be pope. amen. i would also like to introduce the man who is now the new lieutenant governor and the great mayor of the great city of san francisco, the honorable gavin newsom. [applause] what is next, dave? >> i think it is time to meet your 2010 world series champion san francisco giants. let's meet them.

comcast said they will offer tv to tablets.ber, you can watch on your ipad or playbook. there is one weird thing. you have to watch it in your own house. it will only work on your home wi-fi. that's not comcast's fault, it's a copyright and licensing deal. all the deals they make mean they have to distinguish teen home use and mobile use. you use your ipad at home on your couch and it's home use. use it on someone else's and it's mobile use. this will solve itself over the years, but this is one of the things that drives ipad users crazy. >> that's funny. >>> doors at the consumer electronics show in las vegas open in a few hours. >> scott budman is there with a sneak peek. they are on the cutting edge of the way you take pictures. >> digital cameras are popular. they are smaller and more portable thanks to a company called go pro. nick is the ceo and cofounder. i understand you have 3d cameras that can fit on your head and surf bores and they go anywhere. >> yeah. it has been an incredible ride. now we are here debuting our sy

comcast filed this merger with us on january 28 of last year. we have an internal clock up 180 days or repaid it is a big merger and we should carefully consider it. we should do it in a more timely manner. manner.

. >>> the federal communications commission gave comcast the green light today to buy a majority stakein nbc universal. the general company will pay $6.5 billion for a 61% stake of the company. the deal does come with some strings attached. comcast must allow rival cable and satellite providers full access to nbc universal channels. >>> kusf the university of san francisco's radio station is moving to public radio. a commercial free all classical music station will be heard there starting on monday. kusf will only be available online. >>> former american idol judge simon cowell turned down a huge payday to return to american idol. the sharp tongue critic turned it down and left the show after last season. the book also reports there was a power struggling between cowell and the show's creator simon fuller. the new show debuts tomorrow evening. there's two new jobs who will be joining randy jackson. >>> i'm outraged, i'm upset concerning my safety. >>> he witnessed a crime, now a san francisco man says he's receiving threats from the suspect. >>> beautiful beach front homes are threaten

so i do think it was going to be impossible, comcast or no comcast, for this marriage to continue. >>ermann? he's going to have to say off the television news for some time. can he thrive without the platform and promotion that msnbc gave him? >> well i's a great platform, when he had that suspension, 300,000 people signed a petition asking him to stay on the air. that's a pretty good pace. i wouldn't be surprised if he starts an internet challenge. in other words, he has a lot of fans he can bring with him. i think it's safe to predict we have not heard the last of keith. >> thanks very much. for other stories developing right now, let's go to juju chang. hey, juju. >> good morning, george and robin. good morning, everyone. we have more on the breaking new, explosion at moscow's busiest airport. at domodedovo airport. 31 people are dead. there's no claim for responsibility, more information as we get it. in other news here at home, more changes in the mail. the postal service is closing even more post offices to cut expenses. as many as 2,000 will begin closing in march. another 16,0

. >>> the federal communications commission gave comcast the green light today to buy a majority stakein nbc universal. the general company will pay $6.5 billion for a 61% stake of the company. the deal does come with some strings attached. comcast must allow rival cable and satellite providers full access to nbc universal channels. >>> kusf the university of san francisco's radio station is moving to public radio. a commercial free all classical music station will be heard there starting on monday. kusf will only be available online. >>> former american idol judge simon cowell turned down a huge payday to return to american idol. the sharp tongue critic turned it down and left the show after last season. the book also reports there was a power struggling between cowell and the show's creator simon fuller. the new show debuts tomorrow evening. there's two new jobs who will be joining randy jackson. >>> i'm outraged, i'm upset concerning my safety. >>> he witnessed a crime, now a san francisco man says he's receiving threats from the suspect. >>> beautiful beach front homes are threaten

comcast announced the takeover this morning, though the deal was closed yesterday. the move comes after a year- long regulatory reviewresulted in conditions meant to keep the media giant from snuffing out competition. comcast gets a 51 percent stake in nbc universal. the rest goes to general electric. the deal comes with several cable channels and the universal picture's movie studio. >> tough times for trains. the consequences on the peninsula's major roadways. should cal train continue to reduce service. and a seen of the season, how you can get a taste of the chinese new year celebration and what one of the symbols of the holiday means. >>> an increase in the watch of rain coverage on live stormtracker ii. when the heaviest rain downpours are expected and the advisory that started just now up in the sierra. . >>> new at 10 new outreach workers are canvassing east oakland tonight fighting violence the best way they know how. person to person. deborah villalon is live in oakland on east 21st when the volunteers are there. >> they are not cops but they walk the mean