Yesterday news broke that a new, conservative-friendly network was to be launched by Comcast this summer called RightNetwork. According to promotional material, the new media outlet will be “Pro-America, Pro-Business, Pro-Military sensibilities,” and has been reported to be in partnership with cable giant Comcast, who is currently efforting to acquire NBC-Universal. Update: The NY Times Brian Stelter now reports that Comcast has nothing to do with the conservative network.

It’s not exactly breaking news to say that Bill O’Reilly doesn’t like NBC. So, when he started in on another anti-NBC rant last night, viewers could have settled in for just another bit of the same ol’, same ol’. But things got a little weird when O’Reilly paused his monologue to give a plug for NBC’s new owners Comcast, whom he called an “honest corporation” that could turn the company around. Video of the strange comment is below.

30 Rock is a fictional comedy whose writers consistently have Escher-esque fun with real-life influences and characters. But one has to wonder if the disparaging depiction of the fictional cable provider “Kabletown,” and its revenue dependence on pay-per-view pornography isn’t reflective of Comcasts’ business model, and perhaps a concern in the halls of NBC HQ? Video after the jump.

30 Rock is well known for using both real-life news events and personalities to drive their plot, but last night’s episode featured a storyline ripped from the Mediaite headlines: NBC’s takeover by a Philadelphia cable provider, affectionately referred to as “Kabletown.” It also featured a cameo by Nightly News anchor Brian Williams (also known as “the funny one” amongst the NBC News talent lineup. Video after the jump.

The year 2009 had many media bright spots, break-out stars, dominating networks and game-changing technologies. The Mediaite 50 collects the finest, most exemplary innovators and influencers of the year, defining a media moment in time and setting the agenda as we move forward. See the full list after the jump:

Ever since Fox News launched in 1996, it has been alone in the cable news world as the only right-leaning network (in the words of Bill O’Reilly).

Wouldn’t it be ironic if it was NBCU that launches the first competing network? It’s now a possibility, thanks to the Comcastic new deal.

Who: Alec Baldwin interviewed by Janet Maslin What: TimesTalks’ “Live with Alec Baldwin”Where: The Times CenterWhen: December 3, 2009Thumbs: Up

Everyone is dealing with the announcement that Comcast would be taking control of NBCU in different ways.

For Conan O’Brien on The Tonight Show, he’s decided to welcome his new boss with open arms – and a Comcastic new song.

Ever since the NFL Network launched in 2003, there seemingly hasn’t been a moment it wasn’t embroiled in controversy involving its relationship with at least one major cable company. It ended a protracted standoff with Comcast earlier this year (though some Comcast subscribers already had the network), They’re still doing plenty of fighting, however, most prominently with Time Warner.

As has been rumored for awhile, Comcast and GE announced this morning they were forming a joint venture.

Comcast would own 51%, GE would own 49%, Comcast would manage and the venture consists of NBCU businesses, Comcasts’s cable networks and certain digital properties, among other things.

The sale of NBC Universal from General Electric Co to Comcast Corp, which Comcast hoped to complete almost a month ago, looks like it’s actually happening this time. According to the New York Times‘ Michael J. de la Merced, Bill Carter, and Andrew Ross Sorkin, GE reached a tentative agreement to buy Vivendi SA’s 20 percent stake in NBC, ending a stalemate that held up the GE-Comcast deal:

Apparently, the world is not enough for the “worldwide leader.” ESPN recently launched a series of websites tailored to local sports, and it has at least one cable giant a little nervous: Comcast has announced plans to beef up it’s local sports coverage in cities where the ESPN empire may see fit to invade.

Reuters is reporting that according to sources Comcast Corp and General Electric Co have agreed to make current NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker the head of their new proposed joint venture, though the “structure of a new board is still being negotiated” and Peter Chernin‘s role is still up in the air.

The New York Times is reporting that Comcast Corp and General Electric Co are closer to a deal to give Comcast a 51 percent stake in NBC Universal and that a formal announcement may be made in the coming week. Mediaite has learned from an industry source familiar with the negotiations that Comcast will in fact be formally announcing its acquisition of NBC Universal this week.

Yesterday, the news that former News Corp. heavyweight Peter Chernin had been advising Comcast in its bid for NBC Universal sent shockwaves throughout the media world. Before the speculation as to what this means gets out of hand, it’s worth bringing up one key data point: both of Chernin’s top deputies, Katherine Pope and Dylan Clark, are former NBC/Uni execs.

TechCrunch reports that “Facebook grew twice as fast as Twitter in July;” To back this up, they produce an official-looking Comcast chart which documents Facebook’s impressive climb (below). The story was quickly picked up by The Washington Post and HuffPo among others, but did anyone stop to consider the premise that it makes sense to compare Facebook and Twitter at all?