NEW YORK NBC and Universal seal deal to merge

NEW YORK (AP) -- After months of negotiations, NBC is getting its prize: Membership in the Big Media Club.
NBC, a unit of General Electric Co., sealed a deal to merge with the entertainment businesses of Vivendi Universal, the companies announced Wednesday, creating a media conglomerate in the same class as giants like Viacom Inc. and Walt Disney Co.
The new company, to be called NBC Universal, will have a leading broadcast network; the Universal movie and television studios; 14 local TV stations; an array of cable networks, including USA, CNBC and Bravo; and interests in five theme parks.
With $13 billion in annual revenues, NBC Universal will still be small compared to the largest media conglomerates like AOL Time Warner Inc., which had $41 billion in revenues last year or Walt Disney Co.'s $25 billion.
But the deal gives NBC something it has long desired: more clout with competitors, audiences and advertisers. Vivendi chief executive Jean-Rene Fourtou told reporters that its U.S. television holdings "were too small to be really competitive on the American television scene."