Ebersol Hails Comcast-NBC Merger In E-mail To Employees

NBC Sports & Olympics Chair Dick Ebersol in an e-mail to all Comcast and NBC Universal sports employees Thursday wrote it is a "special day for all of us, as we form one unified team" in the NBC Sports Group, which Ebersol will Chair. Ebersol wrote the Sports Group is "bringing together the broad reach and rich heritage of NBC Sports, the ability to serve sports fans 24/7 and allow them to follow their hometown teams with the extensive assets of Comcast, and the sub fees that we broadcast dinosaurs have coveted for so long." Ebersol: "The marriage of our two companies has the opportunity to be a profoundly meaningful relationship. I use the word ‘opportunity’ because this union will only become what we make of it." He added, "As you go about the tasks at hand, I offer a bit of simple advice that is not only very important to me, but also forms the foundation of what has made NBC Sports a special place to call home. This business is all about relationships -- they define who we are, how we conduct ourselves and how we treat each other every day. I know you will bring the same passion to your work in the new company as you have in your old business. ... As we get to know one another, you will learn that family is very important to me, because that is what we are. I am honored to welcome each and every one of you to our NBC Sports Family and I look forward to a bright future together" (THE DAILY).

BULLISH ON FUTURE: The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER's Marisa Guthrie reported Comcast COO and incoming NBC Universal CEO Steve Burke Thursday "told employees gathered for a Town Hall at NBC's New York headquarters at 30 Rock -- as well as via satellite from Los Angeles, London, Miami and Comcast headquarters in Philadelphia -- that they should all be 'in it to win it.'" Burke: "With this set of assets, there's no reason why we can't set the bar very high. Whatever we do, we should be in it to win it." Burke also "sung the praises of NBC Universal executives" including Ebersol, adding that it was "advantageous to have 'experts' heading so many divisions." Guthrie noted the meeting christened the "newly merged company after a 13-month federal review process." NBC News anchor Brian Williams "was on hand in New York to interview" Burke and Comcast Chair & CEO Brian Roberts (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 1/27).