NBC-VIVENDI MERGER CREATES MEDIA GIANT.

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...

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