Cable giant Comcast is one step closer to finalizing a deal with General Electric that will give the media company a 51 percent majority stake in NBC Universal, the struggling broadcast and movie unit.
The merger can move forward now that Vivendi has agreed to sell their 20 percent stake in NBCU to GE for $5.8 billion USD.
Of course, the Vivendi deal will need to be approved by FCC regulators but the sale should not meet much resistance.
If approved, Comcast will buy their stake for $30 billion USD. That deal will need regulator approval as well and could take up to 18 months to complete.
Result for: vivendi
Microsoft has announced the addition of Canal+ to Xbox Live in France, allowing French gamers to watch films and soccer on demand from their consoles.
The move follows a similar deal with the British broadcaster BSkyB just a few weeks ago.
With the deal, Xbox Live users in the nation will have access to 3000 films, dramas as well as French Ligue 1 soccer games.
Microsoft says Xbox Live currently has over 17 million members globally. The company says the Canal+ deal is just a start for partnerships with Canal+ owner Vivendi.
Result for: vivendi
Thanks to a new ruling in the U.S. District Court of Miami, a lawsuit filed last year against socialite Paris Hilton will go ahead to trial, despite pleas from her lawyers to have the case thrown out.
The lawsuit is over Hilton’s lack of promotion for her film National Lampoon’s Pledge This , which had a limited theatrical run before being released on DVD by Vivendi.
The suit was filed by the investor group Worldwide Entertainment Group which claims the socialite’s lack of promotion cost them $8.3 million USD in investments based on the film’s performance.
According to IMDB, in the movie Hilton plays a sorority president who takes in a group of unconventional freshman girls seeking acceptance into her house. The movie is also ranked #31 in the Bottom 100 list of all time, with a 1.6/10 rating.
