Comcast Buying DreamWorks

Comcast made further moves to solidify their purchase of DreamWorks Animation this week, with several outlets reporting that the NBCUniversal arm of Comcast will acquire the studio for $3.8 billion. The purchase would put Illumination Entertainment's (the Comcast-owned animation studio) CEO Chris Meledandri at the helm of DreamWorks, with current CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg still involved but likely in a smaller role. The purchase would give Comcast a major stake in the Hollywood animation industry, and put them toe-to-toe with big time players like Disney-Pixar. According to sources, "In addition to providing Comcast with more animated films, DreamWorks also offers consumer products and theme park opportunities-another Disney-like strategy that Comcast is said to be eager to focus more attention on." Read more on the deal and what it means for the industry here.