Comcast-NBC joint venture approval expected Tuesday

Federal regulators are expected to vote Tuesday to approve Comcast and NBC Universal's joint venture, putting an end to a more than year-long review of a controversial union that will combine the nation's biggest broadband Internet and cable service operator with a television and movie powerhouse.

According to sources familiar with the thinking of the Federal Communications Commission, the deal is set to be approved in a four-to-one vote, with Democratic Commissioner Michael J. Copps dissenting. The senior member of the FCC has consistently expressed concern that the joint venture would harm the public interest as too much control of content goes into the hands of a company that also controls how consumer access the Internet and television.

The Justice Department approved the deal in its antitrust review, and is expected to announce conditions it attached to the merger soon after the FCC's vote, according to one source familiar with the federal reviews. Sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deal has not been officially approved.

Read more -here-