Comcast-NBC merger conditions eyed

Stifel Nicholaus analyst Rebecca Arbogast says the Comcast-NBCU merger conditions she believes will be the most relevant for regulators reviewing the deal are:

• Extending program access rules to Internet video
• Prohibiting Comcast from tying online video access to having a cable-TV subscription (this is the model known as TV Everywhere being pushed by some paid television services such as cable and satellite.)
• Wholesale program unbundling ­ so that a company doesn't have to buy every NBC Universal MTV channel, for example, in order to get MSNBC.
• Mandated access to key must-have assets like regional sports networks
• Shedding assets like Hulu (NBC Universal has a stake) and
• Network neutrality conditions if other broadband providers aren't covered in a separate open Internet proceeding being done at the Federal Communications Commission.