GE's decision on NBC sale delayed - report

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- General Electric won't make a decision on whether or not to sell its NBC Universal unit until after it is done broadcasting the 2008 Olympics from Beijing, according to a published report.

The Financial Times reported Thursday that GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt will delay any decision until after the company has a chance to use the games to boost the sales of its aviation, medical technology and other businesses in China.

A spokesman for GE (Charts, Fortune 500) told the paper that a sale of NBC Universal "is not something that is being considered. We are pleased with the performance of NBC, including three straight quarters of profit growth."

GE continues to make investments in the unit. Just this week it announced a $925 million purchase of Oxygen Media.

And in a separate report, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday that the company is set to announce plans for an expensive and high tech 1.5-million-square-foot studio and office development across the street from Universal Studios in Los Angeles. The move will lead to it leaving the longtime NBC Studios in Burbank, Calif., about a mile away, which has been the long-time home of such shows as "The Tonight Show."

Still, the NBC unit has been subject of a number of sales rumors and speculations due to lagging performance. Its ratings strength has eroded in recent years, as it fell to fourth place among 18 to 49 year-old viewers, a key demographic group for advertisers.

It produces relatively few synergies with GE's other portfolio of industrial and financial operations. It is estimated to be worth about $40 billion.

But the Olympics are expected to give it a boost of advertising revenue. GE reported about $900 million in additional revenue from the broadcast of the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

Vivendi, which sold the Universal Studios unit to NBC, still owns a 20 percent stake, and it has a right to ask GE to buy back that stake or force a listing of NBC, the paper reports.

Federal Communications Commission rules would block Paris-based Vivendi from buying majority control of NBC Universal, and would also block a purchase by rival media conglomerates Walt Disney (Charts, Fortune 500), News Corp. (Charts, Fortune 500) or CBS (Charts, Fortune 500) because of rules on concentration of ownership of television stations.