Comcast NBCUniversal said it will launch SportsTech, a global accelerator for sports technology startups, in August.

This is the third such accelerator Comcast and NBCU have created in the past three years. Earlier this month, Comcast formed the LIFT Labs Accelerator, which is based out of company headquarters at the Comcast Technology Center in Philadelphia and The Farm, housed in Atlanta, the home of its Central Division operations, in 2017.

The SportsTech accelerator will be a partnership including three Comcast sports brands – NBC Sports, Sky Sports and Golf Channel – as well as NASCAR and two U.S. Olympic sports organizations: U.S. Ski & Snowboard and USA Swimming. Comcast Ventures, the company’s San Francisco-based venture capital arm, will also be included. Each partner will serve on a SportsTech advisory committee, providing startups with direct access to strategic industry relationships, mentorship, and partnership opportunities.

“We are delighted to introduce SportsTech to our suite of accelerators to help founders build sports technology and products, refine their business models, tell their stories, and benefit from the unique assets and talent of Comcast NBCUniversal,” said Comcast Cable chief business development officer Sam Schwartz in a press release. “Comcast NBCUniversal has some of the most prominent sports brands and we are excited to partner with founders through SportsTech.”

SportsTech will be based in The Battery Atlanta/SunTrust Park, home to Comcast Cable’s Central Division headquarters, and will give sports technology startups access to a broad international consortium of advisers, a custom sports tech curriculum and investment capital.

“The demand for sports technology across the globe has never been greater, yet most sports startups don’t have access to the resources they need to succeed nor an ability to develop relationships with the right people inside the industry,” said Comcast Cable VP of startup partner development Jenna Kurath in a press release. “SportsTech will provide the curriculum and platform for founders to develop their ideas while obtaining mentorship from leaders in multiple sports, enabling them to further deploy their technologies to dramatically improve sports experiences for athletes and audiences alike.”

Beginning in August, SportsTech will offer a three-month custom-tailored program for up to 10 startups, focused on technologies and products in media and entertainment; fan and player engagement; athlete and player performance; team and coach success; sports venue and event innovation; fantasy sports and sports wagering; esports; and the business of sports.

The deadline to submit an application for SportsTech is May 15. The selected startups will reside in Atlanta for the duration of the program, operating out of SportsTech’s flagship location at The Battery at SunTrust Park, where Comcast’s The Farm accelerator is also based. It will be directed by Boomtown Accelerators, a leading accelerator program headquartered in Boulder, Colo., Boomtown operates The Farm for Comcast NBCUniversal and has established itself as a preeminent home for early-stage startups. 

Video subscriber losses rose slightly in the first quarter for Comcast Cable, but that was offset by strong performance in its broadband segment during the period.

Comcast lost about 121,000 video customers in Q1, up slightly from the 96,000 customers the unit lost in the prior year. But the country’s largest cable operator added 375,000 high-speed data customers in the quarter -- about even with the 379,000 it added in Q1 2018 -- which helped drive revenue up 4.2% to $14.3 billion and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA, a measure of cash flow) up 9.8% to $5.7 billion. It was the highest quarterly EBITDA growth the cable unit has had in a decade.

At NBC Universal, revenue dipped 12.5% to $8.3 billion, reflecting tough comparisons to the prior year which included the PyeongChang Olympics and Super Bowl LII. Adjusted EBITDA rose 2.9% to $2.3 billion, mainly because of gains at its Filmed Entertainment units. At its cable networks, revenue fell 9.2% to $2.9 billion, reflecting decreases in distribution and advertising revenue. Excluding $378 million generated by the Olympics in Q1 2018, revenue would have increased 3.2% in the period. Advertising revenue was down 12.8% in the quarter, also reflecting tough comparisons to the 2018 Olympics. Adjusted EBITDA  increased 0.7% to $1.3 billion in the period.

At its broadcast TV unit, revenue fell 29.4% to $2.5 billion in Q1. Excluding revenue of $770 million from the Olympics and $423 million from Super Bowl LII in the prior year, overall revenue at the unit would have risen 7.1% in the period.

“Comcast is off to a terrific start in 2019, financially, operationally and strategically.In the first quarter, we delivered strong EBITDA and earnings per share growth, as well as robust free cash flow,” Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts said in a press release. “Comcast Cable had the best quarterly EBITDA growth in over a decade, while NBCUniversal again posted favorable results. We also continued to strengthen our leadership position in valuable customer relationships and premium content. ...Across all parts of the company, our teams are executing at a high level and collaborating to drive growth and innovation.I’m excited about this quarter’s results and the opportunities ahead."

At Comcast’s new Sky unit, revenue decreased 5% to $4.8 billion, mainly due to currency issues. Excluding the currency impact, revenue rose 1.9%, driven by increases in content sales -- up 38% to $370 million, mainly from wholesaling sports programming. Adjusted EBITDA dipped 17%, affected by increased costs for sports rights. Sky added about 112,000 customer relationships in the period, ending Q1 with 23.7 million subscribers.

Consolidated revenue increased 17.9% to $26.9 billion and adjusted EBITDA was up 18.1% to $8.6 billion, reflecting the addition of Sky.  

The American Cable Association has called on the Justice Department to open an antitrust investigation into Comcast-NBCUniversal. It would be a way to keep Justice overseeing the company after the conditions it imposed on the merger expired earlier this year. ACA is saying the government still needs a leash on the company, rather than unleash. The ACA said the problems Justice saw in 2011 when it imposed the conditions are still problems.

Comcast-NBCU said the ACA's call is meritless and "constitutes an inappropriate attempt to gain leverage in the commercial marketplace."

But President Donald Trump, who is no fan of NBC News or most big media companies with news operations that have reported critically on him, took note of the ACA letter in a tweet:

[embed]https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1062045654711713792[/embed]

ACA was not complaining about the additional spotlight, thanking the President for his input. A spokesman for the group said they did not know how the President became aware of the letter, though his Tweet came after it was reported by Multichannel News and others.

ACA wanted Justice to extend the conditions, but that didn't happen, though antitrust chief Makan Delrahim has signaled that one of the reasons he favors spin-offs over behavioral conditions like those put on the merger is that it is hard to enforce them. He also said Justice would keep an eye on the company now that the conditions have sunset. But ACA suggests it needs to do more than monitor to keep the company in line, plus monitoring alone may not be enough to protect the rivals who have information about the company's business practices that they want to share.

ACA also asked the FCC to toughen its program access rules given that the conditions were going away, but the FCC has not done so.

Related: ACA Says Deal Conditions Should Last Longer

ACA has long complained that large program suppliers force bundled carriage and impose unfair terms due to their size and market power on the smaller entities it represents.

"By opening a formal investigation, the DOJ will demonstrate seriousness of purpose and give it the ability to collect sufficient information to determine whether Comcast-NBC is acting anticompetitively," ACA said.

ACA's letter seeking the investigation was addressed to Delrahim and offered ACA's cooperation, including providing some info on Comcast-NBCU's business practices. ACA has long said the merged company has the incentive and opportunity, and willingness, to inflict anticompetitive harms given its size relative to the smaller cable and broadband operators ACA represents.

"NBCU has shown a willingness to harm rivals, even while being subject to the 2011 DOJ and FCC conditions," said ACA President Matt Polka. "In light of these concerns, which also have been expressed by members of Congress and a diverse array of stakeholders, the Antitrust Division should immediately open an investigation into the firm’s behavior."

"In 2011, the DOJ and FCC recognized that the combination of programming and distribution assets within Comcast-NBCU created such serious competitive problems that the transaction could only be approved with robust remedies. Since that time, as demonstrated herein, Comcast-NBCU’s dominant position in the market has not lessened, and in fact, it is even greater-and the 2011 remedies are no longer in effect. As a result, Comcast-NBCU is unleashed, and consumer and rivals are bound to suffer harm."

"The video programming and distribution markets are incredibly competitive," Comcast countered in a statement. "New programmers and distribution platforms are offering consumers increasing choices on what and where to watch. At Comcast NBCUniversal, we are competing in this dynamic environment the way we always have – by continuing to innovate and conducting our business in compliance with antitrust laws and other legal requirements. Among other things, Comcast Cable has brought Netflix and YouTube to our X1 platform. And NBCUniversal has provided content to Hulu, Netflix, and hundreds of other traditional and over-the-top providers."

One of Delrahim's big issues with the AT&T-Time Warner deal, which Justice sued to block because AT&T would not agree to spin-offs rather than behavioral conditions, is that he saw it as incentive and opportunity for that merged company to disadvantage over-the-top rivals by limiting their access to either the company's programming or distribution network.

Comcast-NBCUniversal will host a "hack-a-thon" Nov. 3-4 at Telemundo's new Miami headquarters.

The hack-a-thon, the second in Miami, will provide a $10,000 grand prize for the most innovative cross-platform approach to developing "new ways to tell stories and foster deeper fan and community engagement with participating NBCUniversal brands."

The winner, who will be expected to leverage new tech including artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR), will also get a chance to pitch their proposal to NBCU execs. In addition to the grand prize winner there will be first and second runner-ups.

Participants will have access to NBCU content and platforms during the two-day event.

Tech companies partnering on the effort include Amazon and Google.

Comcast said more than 100,000 employees, their families and friends, along with several community partners will participate in the 17th annual Comcast Cares Day, set for this Saturday (April 21).

Comcast noted that Comcast Cares Day, which started in 2001, will reach the 1 million volunteers milestone this year as it sets its sights on another goal -- 500,000 employee volunteer hours on environmentally-focused projects alone by 2020.

Since Comcast Cares Day started in 2001, volunteers have logged more than 5 million hours at 8,800 projects, and have contributed more than $22 million in grants to participating local non-profit community partners, Comcast said.

Related: #CableInTheCommunity

Comcast said participants at this year’s event will take part in more than 1,000 community improvement projects in about 20 countries around the world, including those focused on revitalizing neighborhood parks and schools and assembling care packages for U.S. military service members. This year’s event also includes a partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation that will plant about 1,000 trees in parts of California, Florida and Texas impacted by last year’s wildfires and hurricanes.

Examples of other organization partners involved in Comcast Cares Day include UnidosUS, National Urban League, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, City Year, Easterseals, and The Arc.

Among activities with a special technology focus, machineQ, a Comcast-owned unit focused on enterprise Internet of Things services, will demonstrate the capabilities of its IoT network at Bartram’s Garden in south Philadelphia.

RELATED: Comcast’s MachineQ Unit Gets Down to Business

In addition to the work on cleaning up and beautifying the area, machineQ has deployed a network of 16 wireless, low-power sensors to monitor moisture, temperature and humidity throughout the gardens. That data will help staff at Bartrams’ Garden make informed decisions on when to water plants and warm up their greenhouses and, generally, help to conserve resources and money.

“Comcast Cares Day started as a way to give back in our hometown of Philadelphia, but I am so proud that our employees have embraced it beyond our imagination, growing it into an event that spans the country and around the world,” Brian Roberts, Comcast’s chairman and CEO, said in a statement. “This year, we will celebrate one million volunteers since Comcast Cares Day started, which really speaks to the heart of our employees and their passion for improving our communities.”

“We are thankful for our employees and community partners who volunteer their many talents – from painting and planting to teaching digital literacy skills and holding resume writing workshops – to make a positive, lasting impact on Comcast Cares Day and throughout the year,” added David Cohen, Comcast’s senior EVP and chief diversity officer, added. “Service as a tool to give back is a deep part of Comcast NBCUniversal’s culture, and Comcast Cares Day, along with our ongoing partnerships with Global Citizen and Red Nose Day, provide many ways to take action and make a difference.”

Government regulators overseeing merger reviews have no problems with Comcast/NBCU's $3.8 billion deal to buy DreamWorks animation.

That is according to the list of deals granted early termination of their antitrust reviews by the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission.

Any deal valued at north of about $75 million (it is occasionally adjusted) must get a Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust review.

The early termination means that the government found no reason to block the deal or sue to apply conditions that would address anti-competitive concerns.

Following the completion of the transaction, DreamWorks Animation CEO and co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg will become chairman of DreamWorks New Media, which will comprised the company’s ownership interests in Awesomeness TV and NOVA. Katzenberg will also serve as a consultant to NBCUniversal.

The deal is expected to close by year's end.

Mike Farrell contributed to this story.