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AP Technology NewsBrief at 10:59 a.m. EST(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Wall Street: Comcast getting great deal on NBCUNEW YORK (AP) _ Analysts believe General Electric Co. gave Comcast Corp. a great deal on the half of NBCUniversal that the cable company doesn't already own. Analyst Matthew Harrigan at Wunderlich Securities said GE "mispriced" the $16.7 billion deal. Comcast doubles down on TV in $16.7B deal for NBCULOS ANGELES (AP) _ Comcast's $16.7 billion deal to buy the remaining half of NBCUniversal ahead of schedule represents a resounding vote of confidence in the future of TV, even as the growth of Internet video reshapes the entertainment landscape. The decision was driven largely by Comcast Corp.'s belief that it would end up paying substantially more for General Electric Co.'s remaining 49 percent stake if it had waited until 2018, as had been envisioned in 2011 when the cable TV provider acquired majority control of NBCUniversal. General Electric gets out of the TV businessNEW YORK (AP) _ General Electric is saying goodbye to 30 Rock _ the building and the TV business born there. It's another step in GE's efforts to focus on less glamorous _ but theoretically more profitable _ ventures such as manufacturing medical imaging equipment, airplane engines and electrical generators. Apple CEO: Shareholder lawsuit is 'silly sideshow'Apple CEO Tim Cook is calling a shareholder lawsuit against the company a "silly sideshow," even as he said he is open to looking at the shareholder's proposals for sharing more cash with investors. Investor David Einhorn sued Apple Inc. last week, saying a proposal slated for a vote at the company's annual meeting in two weeks would make it more difficult to enact his plan to reward shareholders by distributing a new class of shares. Intel working on TV set-top box to replace cableIntel Corp. said Tuesday that it will sell a set-top box that brings Internet-delivered movies and shows to a TV set this year. Erik Huggers, general manager of Intel Media, said the company plans to sell a box that will offer "a vastly superior experience" to today's cable boxes. Another major Dell shareholder opposes $24.4B saleSAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ A shareholder rebellion against Dell's proposed $24.4 billion sale to its founder and other investors is gaining more support, fueling a belief that the struggling personal computer maker will have to wrangle a higher price to get the deal done. Mutual fund firm T. Rowe Price joined the opposition Tuesday. T. Rowe Price and another shareholder, Southeastern Asset Management, believe that founder and CEO Michael Dell and the investment firm Silver Lake are being allowed to seize control and end Dell Inc.'s 25-year history as a publicly held company for too little money. Yahoo CEO plans to prune company's mobile appsSAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer thinks the Internet company will be able to please more people with fewer smartphone applications. Mayer told an audience of investors during a Tuesday presentation that she thinks Yahoo will be better served with just 12 to 15 mobile applications, down from a "scattered" portfolio of as many as 75 different programs in recent years. White House revealing Obama's cybersecurity planWASHINGTON (AP) _ White House officials are revealing details of President Barack Obama's initial plans for protecting the computer networks of crucial American industries from cyberattacks. Their description of Obama's executive order was planned for Wednesday, a day after the president signed it. The announcement was also coming hours after the president urged Congress in his annual State of the Union address to pass legislation taking even tougher steps. Broadcasting pioneer NBC has long, storied historyNEW YORK (AP) _ NBC got its start in 1926 as the nation's first radio network. Its parent company, the Radio Corporation of America, figured people would buy radios if they had interesting things to listen to. NBC was the leading radio network in the early years, so powerful in those days that it had two networks: NBC-Red and NBC-Blue. It was forced by the Federal Communications Commission in the early 1940s to divest itself of one network. NBC-Blue eventually became ABC. In fact, all three original broadcast networks can be traced back to NBC. One of its original owners, Westinghouse Electric Co., bought CBS in 1995. Cable TV company has gone from Tupelo to 30 RockPHILADELPHIA (AP) _ Comcast Corp. dates back to 1963, when businessman Ralph Roberts got into the cable TV business in its early days. He spent $500,000 for American Cable Systems, a company in Tupelo, Miss., that strung up cable to carry TV broadcasts to homes that couldn't get clear reception with antennas. Later, the former New Yorker incorporated Comcast _ named for "communications" and "broadcast" _ closer to home in Pennsylvania, and expanded it by acquiring other cable TV providers. In 1990, Roberts' son, Brian, became president. He accelerated the company's expansion. (c) 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |