In the wake of Comcast's decision to acquire a 51 percent stake in NBC Universal, the two companies have no immediate plans for a subscription-based version of Hulu, but NBC is considering the idea, executives said Wednesday.

In the wake of Comcast's decision to acquire a 51 percent stake in NBC Universal, the two companies have no immediate plans for a subscription-based version of Hulu, but NBC is considering the idea, executives said Wednesday.

"We have no grand plans" for a subscription-based version of Hulu, Comcast chief executive Brian Roberts said during a conference call with reporters.

"We think the way NBC Universal is distributing its video content on the Internet is very consistent with the way we would do it," Roberts continued. "In other words, lots of broadcast content on Hulu, be very careful about the cable content that goes out on the Internet for free, and look at things like TV Everywhere as a way to control how that content goes out."

Earlier this morning, Comcast that it would acquire the stake in NBCU for $6.5 billion. General Electric will by Vivendi's 20 percent in NBCU for $5.8 billion, putting its stake at 49 percent. The combined entities will be known as the Comcast Entertainment Group (CEG), which will stand alongside Comcast Cable.

The joint venture "will bring together Comcast's cable programming networks (including our regional sports networks), Fandango and Daily Candy with the broadcasting, cable programming, movie studio, theme park, and online content businesses of NBC Universal," Roberts wrote in a blog post.

Jeff Zucker, current president and chief executive of NBCU, will be chief executive of the new joint venture and will report to Steve Burke, Comcast's chief operating officer.

"Talking about the product road map for Hulu is not something that we want to publicly talk about," Zucker said Wednesday. "Obviously, there are a number of things that Hulu is looking at and whether or not [a] subscription is something that makes sense is something that we'll look at in the months ahead."

Video Web site Hulu debuted as a joint venture between NBC Universal and News Corp. Earlier this year, the Walt Disney Company announced that it too would . Providence Equity Partners also has a stake.

Rumors of a subscription-based version of Hulu have been circulating for months after a and a suggested on separate occasions that it might be in the cards.

In June, meanwhile, which would allow Comcast subscribers to watch cable content online for free, including shows from TNT, TBS, , , and more.

"Hulu and TV Everywhere are very complementary," Roberts said. "There is a place for both, and I would anticipate for the foreseeable future, there will be a place for both."

At this point, that foreseeable future is likely limited to a year-long approval process anticipated by both companies. "We hope that [NBC Universal] will continue to run Hulu successfully because it's an important asset," Roberts said. "For the next year, those are their decisions."

"Once deal is approved, we're going to want NBC Universal to continue to do what it needs to do to maximize the value of its content on the Internet," Roberts said.

For now, that's not a decision over which Comcast has control, Roberts said. As for "the specific question as to the Hulu strategy and charging for content, that's really something for Hulu, something for Jeff [Zucker] and his team and the shareholders of Hulu to think about it. We have no grand plans; it's certainly not in the cards."

What is in the cards is overcoming what will likely be a lengthy regulatory process.

"The FCC will carefully examine the proposed merger and will be thorough, fair, and fact-based in its review," a spokeswoman for Chairman Julius Genachowski said in a statement.

Sen. Herb Kohl, chairman of the Senate Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights Subcommittee, pledged to hold a public hearing "so that consumers can get a better sense of how this deal could affect their access to diverse programming and information, especially as they more often look to the Internet for such services."

Sen. John Kerry, chairman of the Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet, also pledged to "monitor that [regulatory approval] process closely" given that the deal is "extremely significant in scope and raises some complex questions."

Roberts was not concerned. "We think this is an approvable transaction. It's pro-consumer, it's going to accelerate what consumers want, which is access to all the different types of content on different platforms, at different times," he said. "There's a transition happening from physical to electronic delivery in all forms of media, and this is going to play a big role in making that really good for consumers."

Roberts anticipated minimal layoffs. "The overlap is very small," he said. Its headquarters will remain in Philadelphia.

Free Press, which filed a successful network management complaint against Comcast at the Federal Communications Commission, joined forces with the Consumer Federation of America to write a white paper on why the Comcast-NBCU deal poses a "major threat to video competition that would seriously harm the public interest."

Among their concerns is NBC's interest in Hulu. "A merged company would have a powerful motive to starve competing online video sources by denying them access to vital content," they said.

Several free market think tanks were less concerned.

"Simply put, the deal raises no general antitrust or diversity issue," said Ken Ferree, a senior fellow at the Progress and Freedom Foundation. "Comcast is primarily a distribution company, not a content company like NBCU. And to the extent that programming withholding ever becomes an issue in an individual market, such conduct can be addressed on a case-by-case basis."

Randolph May, president of the Free Station Foundation, said the merger should receive scrutiny, but was skeptical about antitrust concerns. "This 'media concentration' wolf done cried a few too many times to be scary anymore," he said.