The worst-kept secret of the year was finally made official this week when cable giant Comcast announced it would take a majority-interest in NBC Universal from General Electric.

The move comes as GE looks to refocus its efforts on its industrial portfolio and slowly edge out of entertainment after 25 years.

Comcast, which has made it clear it will keep its cable operations separate from NBCU, seems to really only be interested in the cable aspect of the media company, which includes channels such as USA Network, MSNBC and Syfy. So much, in fact, that there is now word that Comcast could be looking to end the existence of NBC itself.

According to sources of BNET's Diane Mermigas, Comcast has "no interest in assuming the responsibility and declining losses association with owning broadcast TV networks or stations."

Comcast already has indicated it would sell the 10 company-owned NBC affiliates in major markets to try and sidestep anti-trust concerns from federal regulators. But the network itself could be on its way out, with the shifting of remaining programs heading to cable properties like CNBC and USA.

If such a move were to happen, it probably wouldn't happen before 2014, but it would be a hugely drastic move for Comcast in the midst of a struggling economic environment, and a long-term ratings slide that NBC has been experiencing.

"Under one possible scenario, the NBC News, CNBC and MSNBC brands could be organized into a single news unit servicing cable, online and mobile devices," Mermigas wrote. "The same could occur with all of NBCU's and Comcast's sports, children's and daytime program franchises, sources say.

"The programming also could continue to feed Hulu," she said, which is believed to begin selectively charging for content next year.

Axing NBC could signal the beginning of the end for network television as new media platforms, especially those through the Internet, take a more dominant role. It would also be the first of the original Big Three networks to end after dominance in its early years, and even as recently as the 1980s and 1990s.

NBC was launched in 1941, 16 years after NBC Radio first took the air. The radio side of NBC dissolved in 2003.

Over the past 68 years, it has been the home of a number of classic shows including "Star Trek," "ER," "Cheers," "Seinfeld," "Friends" and more recently "The West Wing," "30 Rock" and the Law & Order franchise. It also created a spot in our lexicon for "Must-See TV."

NBC is averaging a 4.2 rating/7 share this season in overnight ratings from The Nielsen Co. tracking only first-run, non-event, non-news programming in primetime. That is fourth place behind the 7.1/12 for CBS, 6.6/11 for ABC, and 4.3/7 for Fox.

What Comcast intends to do with NBC is still nothing more than rumor, and should be treated as such. It could take up to a year for the Comcast acquisition to complete with extensive regulatory investigations still pending.