Washington » General Electric Chairman Jeffery Immelt sent Sen. Orrin Hatch a $2,000 campaign contribution the same day his company announced a deal giving Comcast controlling interest in NBC Universal.

It was the first time Immelt has donated to the Utah senator, and yet the contribution capped a fundraising barrage during the previous month where top GE vice presidents and the company's political action committee funneled a total of $23,000 to Hatch's campaign account.

Hatch is expected to play a key role in the congressional review of the controversial merger. He is the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary's antitrust committee, which will hold its first hearing on the Comcast-NBC deal Thursday.

A GE spokesman said the contributions' proximity to the merger announcement was a coincidence and nothing more, while Hatch's staff said the donations have no impact on his views.

"He has always simply done what he believes is the right thing to do for Utah and America. That is the bottom line," said Hatch spokesman Mark Eddington.

Coincidence or not, Hatch is likely to be more sympathetic toward the massive media merger than many others on the subcommittee.

The chairman, Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., has already expressed skepticism about the deal saying: "This acquisition will create waves throughout the media and entertainment marketplace and we don't know where the ripples will end."

Hatch, on the other hand, has remained relatively mum since the deal became public Dec. 3, but in a recent interview with The Salt Lake Tribune he discussed it in positive terms, saying he has met with Comcast executives, Immelt and others at GE.

"I have to say something has to be done about NBC, it is failing and it is a great broadcast group. I don't want to see it fail," Hatch said. "There aren't too many companies in the country that could match Comcast for its ability to prevent the failure."

NBC has lower viewership than the other three major networks -- CBS, ABC and FOX, and advertising for the big four has been on the decline.

In the $30 billion merger, Comcast would pay GE $6.5 billion in cash and pair its lucrative cable channels such as Versus and E Entertainment, with NBC Universal's stable that include MSNBC, USA and Bravo.

Comcast would control 51 percent of the new company and GE would keep 49 percent, at least in the short term.

If government regulators OK the deal, Comcast would become one of the nation's media titans, joining companies such as Disney and Time Warner in its size and scope. But critics say the merger puts too much media power into the hands of the cable provider, which could hurt competitors such as DirecTV and potentially impede the growth of Internet-based TV.

The Washington-based advocacy group Public Knowledge released a statement urging the government to "make certain competitors will have access to Comcast and NBC programming as the online market evolves."

The governmental review by the Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department could take as long as a year, but analysts don't expect the deal to fall apart.

"It is quite likely to be approved. The key question is what conditions regulators will put on the merger," said Paul Gallant, a former FCC employee who is a media analyst with Concept Capital.

Congress plays a largely unofficial role in the regulatory review. Their hearings act as a public way to flesh out potential problems and give members of Congress the ability to influence antitrust authorities.

"Senator Hatch definitely has a voice in this merger review," Gallant said. "He understands how antitrust regulators think, so his views matter."

For his part, Hatch promised that all involved would be "treated very fairly."

"I will keep an open mind on the issue," he said, giving a nod to some public skepticism over the deal. "I think it is justified to say that maybe there are some concerns that we will have to work our way through."

Comcast and GE negotiated the merger during the past nine months. On Nov. 4, GE's political action committee donated $6,000 to Hatch. Then the company's executives held a Nov. 12 fundraiser. The last donation from Immelt came Dec. 3.

It was the first GE-related contributions Hatch has received in at least five years and is far more than the GE leadership team has ever sent to the six-term senator.

Hatch also received a $1,000 contribution from the political action committee of NBC's rival CBS in late December.

GE spokesman Gary Sheffer said the fundraiser was originally planned for mid-October, but was delayed by scheduling conflicts.

"Over the years, and over the last few months, we have held events of this kind for members of Congress from both parties," Sheffer said.

The senator has met with not only Comcast and GE but people "on the other side of the merger issue," Eddington said. "He intends to carefully listen and analyze the information presented in the hearing tomorrow on this issue of great importance to the future of broadcasting."

mcanham@sltrib.com