Comcast, the nation's largest cable provider, will consolidate its control over NBCUniversal by buying out the 49 percent of the media company that it doesn't already own. Comcast will pay General Electric $16.7 billion for the shares and shell out $1.4 billion for related real estate, including the iconic 30 Rockefeller Plaza.

Under a deal announced in 2009, General Electric spun NBC, Universal Studios, and various other media properties off into a new joint venture and sold 51 percent of the shares, and effective control, to Comcast.

The merger was intensely controversial. Critics charged that the acquisition would further cement Comcast's already dominant position in the cable market, making it impossible for competitors such as Netflix to compete on a level playing field. But regulators decided not to challenge the merger, settling for a long list of regulatory concessions.

By structuring the deal so that GE initially held 49 percent of NBCUniversal, Comcast limited its downside risk: if the merger went sour, as some some media mergers have, GE would have eaten some of the losses. The original deal gave Comcast an option to buy the rest of NBCUniversal in 2014, but evidently the merger has been going well and Comcast decided to buy GE out ahead of schedule.

Even after the early acquisition, Comcast evidently had cash to spare. The firm also announced a larger shareholder dividend and a $2 billion share buyback plan.

As we reported when the merger was approved, Comcast will now control its massive cable network, the Telemundo Spanish-language network, the NBC television network, TV production studios, the Universal movie studio, the Universal theme parks in LA and Florida, channels like MSNBC and CNBC, and a stake in Hulu. Prior to the merger, Comcast already owned TV channels like E! and G4, and the Philadelphia Flyers NHL franchise.

Corrections: This story originally stated that Comcast will "control" 234 NBC affiliate stations. While NBCUniversal will supply these stations with content, most are independently owned and operated. Also, we stated that Comcast owned the Philadelphia 76ers, which was true when the deal was announced but is no longer true. We regret the errors.