Comcast is rumored to be in talks to merge with NBC/Universal. Comcast's move is designed to aquire NBC/Universal's rich content library in a defensive measure against their customers increasingly accessing content directly over the internet versus paying for access on cable.
By owning content, cable operators can either prevent content from becoming available on the web for free or charge subscription access. If Comcast actually goes through with the merge and it proves successful commercially, expect a wave of similar mergers and a fundamental shift in the industry.
Unfortunately, such moves serve to limit consumer web access to programming. In either case, Comcast's actions recognize the threat that internet access poses to their existing franchise.
