MEDIA ACQUISITIONS like Comcast’s purchase of NBC Universal enable a distribution company (Comcast) to also control the production (by NBC Universal) of much of its content. Comcast, the largest cable and broadband provider in the United States, now owns many of the channels that appear on its cable systems. Yet this does not guarantee NBC Universal production a spot on one of those channels. The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, originally intended for NBC, was sold instead to Netflix, where it became a success for the streaming company. NBC Universal can make money even when it doesn’t air its own shows.