NEW YORK — Except for the Olympics, the NBC peacock has largely faded from the forefront of the broadcast sports scene lately.

Now with the pending merger of NBC and Comcast, that figures to change — slowly.

A combined NBC-Comcast could compete for more NFL coverage, regain Major League Baseball and the NBA, and fight to maintain its exclusive deal for U.S. rights to the Olympics.

"I think this is a watershed deal in the history of the broadcast industry," said former CBS Sports president Neal Pilson, now a television consultant. "It's the biggest thing that's happened in my 40 years in broadcasting. No question."

When Comcast Corp. gains majority control in NBC Universal, it will meld NBC into a company that already owns 11 regional sports networks, The Golf Channel and Versus, and also has minority interests in the MLB Network and iNDemand.

NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol will transform from cash-starved executive back to a sports tycoon, with the ability to compete for any sports rights that become available, making the new venture a likely competitor with ESPN, which is owned by The Walt Disney Co.