Comcast CEO: On the sidelines for 'Tonight Show' flap

WASHINGTON - Comcast Corp. chief executive officer Brian L. Roberts said at an Internet conference yesterday that he was frustrated over the flap at NBC between talk show hosts Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien but that he has watched the spectacle from the sidelines in Philadelphia.

"It is what it is. It is frustrating because we are not allowed to be legally involved," Roberts said, adding that "there's many good things happening at NBC Universal."

Comcast, the nation's largest cable company, reached an agreement early last month with General Electric Co. to acquire a controlling interest in the entertainment giant NBC Universal Inc., which owns cable TV channels, a movie studio, theme parks, and the Peacock broadcast network.

The Comcast-NBCU deal now faces extensive antitrust and regulatory scrutiny in Washington over concerns that Comcast will own not only the delivery system for entertainment and news into millions of U.S. homes, but also the actual creator of that entertainment and news.

Comcast cannot interfere in NBC's day-to-day operations before the deal closes, officials at the cable company say, leaving Comcast outside the loop in the Leno-O'Brien blowup, one of the most public spats between television personalities in recent memory.

O'Brien agreed to a $45 million settlement to leave The Tonight Show and to refrain from criticizing his NBC bosses. Leno will return in March to The Tonight Show.

Roberts - who was dressed in a purple tie, white shirt, and black two-piece suit and appeared relaxed and chatty - repeated his support for Jeff Zucker, the chief executive of NBC Universal. "We've said Jeff Zucker will be the CEO and report to Steve Burke," Comcast's chief operating officer, Roberts said.

The two of them - Roberts and Zucker - will testify together next Thursday before two congressional committees over the proposed Comcast-NBCU merger.

Yesterday's event was organized by the nonprofit group Internet Education Foundation and was held at the Hyatt Regency. The annual event seeks to educate Congress on Internet issues. Roberts agreed a year ago to speak.

As a keynote speaker, Roberts was questioned by Alan Murray, the executive editor of the Wall Street Journal online version.

Comcast, Roberts said, has supported NBC as a free over-the-air television network and did not intend to convert it into a pay-to-watch cable TV channel. "We want to take that fear off the table."

The TV audience is changing its habits with new TV devices and the Internet, he said, but broadcast television still commands a large number of viewers.

Roberts said he did not believe that there would be a large number of layoffs from the merger - something Wall Street typically wants in a deal like this.

The "synergies" in the deal come from merging NBC's content with Comcast's distribution business, Comcast has said. Roberts noted, for instance, that NBC Sports could telecast sports content on the Comcast-owned Golf Channel, boosting both operations.

Government approvals for the Comcast-NBCU deal could take nine months to a year, Roberts said. But he urged quick action in Washington, referring to NBC Universal's workforce: "You don't want 30,000 employees left in limbo too long."

On a personal note, Murray mentioned Roberts' 50th birthday last year. For the momentous point in his life, Roberts said, he completed a triathlon in June that included a swim in the Schuylkill.

"That's what I chose to do for my midlife crisis," he said, "and it was a beautiful day."