3 Things: Comcast, Iverson and Medical Marijuana

By PW Staff
Add Comment Add Comment | Comments: 0 | Posted Dec. 3, 2009

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Three things to know in Philly today:

• GE, COMCAST ANNOUNCE JOINT NBC DEAL: General Electric and Comcast announced a joint venture on Thursday that will give the cable company eventual control of NBC Universal, according to a statement from GE. NBC has been in the ratings toilet for several years, trailing CBS, ABC and Fox in primetime ratings, and Universal Studios had just one summer box office hit this year: "Inglourious Basterds," and attendance at the company's theme parks has been slipping. But things aren't all bad at NBC Universal. Its cable networks are exceedingly strong, with USA gaining the top ratings of any cable network in the past quarter. SyFy, CNBC and Bravo have also gained viewers, and MSNBC took over second place in the primetime cable news battle. NBC's investment in digital media site hulu.com also seems to be playing off, with strong viewership and advertising growth. (CNN)

• IVERSON REJOINS THE SIXERS: Iverson apparently has told the Sixers it is going to be different this time, which is all fine. Honestly, what else would he say? There is a codependence here: The Sixers need his scoring for a few weeks in the absence of Lou Williams and Marreese Speights, and Iverson needs the Sixers as a means for removing the chip on his shoulder that has grown through unsuccessful stops in Denver, Detroit and Memphis. As Stefanski said, "His thing was, he really wants to come back here to play. He wants to show people that he can still play." Which gets us back to legacy, and to this ultimate truth: Nothing that happens in the next couple of months will change what people think about Iverson or remember about Iverson. If that is why he is doing this, it really will be a waste of everybody's time. (Rich Hoffman/Daily News)

• HEARINGS BEGIN ON PA MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAW: HARRISBURG - The heart-wrenching stories came from both sides. A Pittsburgh man testified of wishing he could have used pot to ease his dying mother's "excruciating pain." Parents of drug-addicted children said the last thing the state should do is join the 13 others that allow medical use of marijuana. Thus did the Pennsylvania legislature dip its toe into the roiling waters of the legalization debate for the first time yesterday. The setting was a standing-room-only hearing of a House committee considering a bill titled the Compassionate Use of Medical Marijuana Act.

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