GE agrees to annual NBCU advertising

No matter what happens to the Peacock in the Comcast era, General Electric is sure to be a paying customer on NBC Universal's air for years to come. The joint venture agreement unveiled by Comcast and GE Thursday includes a commitment from GE to buy $59 million a year in advertising on NBC U properties for five years, starting from the time the merger closes, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing made Friday by Comcast Corp. The closing date is expected to in the second half of 2010 at the earliest. Of course, for a mega-conglom like GE, $59 million is lunch money. The pact also includes a provision committing GE to buy $60 million of ad time in connection with NBC U's coverage of the 2012 Olympic Games. GE has the right to compel Comcast to buy half of its remaining stake in NBC U at the three and a half year anniversary of the deal's closing, and the remainder of the stake at the seven-year mark. If GE decides not to exercise its option, Comcast can trigger a buyout in two stages, at the four-year and eight-year anniversaries of the deal's closing. GE will retain certain veto powers so long as it owns at least 10% of the Peacock. GE will have to give its approval for any NBC U acquisitions over $500 million, or any moves that would incur debt of more than $250 million. GE has to approve any transactions between sibling divisions of NBC U or Comcast that are valued at more than $7.5 million.