The FCC has approved the merger of NBC and Comcast. But they did put a few conditions on the deal that are designed to protect the public.

Mark Cooper, director of research at the Consumer Federation of America, said that the terms, most of which stay in effect for seven years, “add a new dimension to efforts to promote and protect the public interest that is extremely important.”

And Comcast (CMCSA) Executive Vice President David Cohen said, “The government was able to find a sweet spot” to protect the public without putting shackles on the company.

Among the highlights:

•Program access. Fans of local sports and news channels in Comcast’s cable markets should have more choice.

The new combined company can’t keep its networks or programs — including local sports and news services — off of rival satellite or telephone company pay TV services. If Comcast and the rival can’t agree on contract terms, the rival can ask an arbitrator to resolve the matter within 90 days.

ACQUISITION: Comcast gets feds’ OK to acquire NBC Universal

The terms could end disputes such as the one Comcast has had with Dish Network: The satellite company said that Comcast unfairly withheld its Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia regional sports network, which broadcasts games from the Philadelphia Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers.

•Online video distribution. Web video providers including Netflix or Apple TV have two options to get NBC Universal shows.

They can license entire channels from NBC Universal but would have to carry them much as satellite and phone pay TV services do, including buying channels in bundles.

“You can’t cherry-pick networks,” Cohen sais.

Comcast also can insist that the online provider first secure deals to license other networks, so they won’t offer just NBC Universal channels.

A second option would be to license individual shows. But here, too, NBC Universal (GE) can wait until the Web TV provider cuts at least one deal with another major network or program producer.

Comcast would only have to make similar shows available on comparable terms. If a Web service gets music videos from one company, it can’t use that deal to require Comcast to provide NBC sitcoms or news.

Also, Comcast would not be forced to break deals with its program suppliers. It can’t offer a Major League Baseball game to an online service that carries sports unless Major League Baseball grants Comcast the online rights.

Due to the evolving nature of online video, “there’s a lot of complexity” in the FCC and Justice Department orders “but not a lot of restriction,” Cohen said.

•Hulu. The cable company can continue to own NBC Universal’s investment in Hulu but can’t control the online video provider — and must give up its voting rights and board seats.

Comcast has to make shows available to Hulu much the way NBC and other networks that work with the online video service do now.

•Program carriage. Comcast can’t discriminate against independent channels that want to get onto its cable systems.

Also, Comcast can’t make other companies’ news channels less attractive: For example, if Comcast puts business news channels such as CNBC and Fox Business next to each other on the dial, it can’t isolate Bloomberg Television on a much higher number.

•Broadband. For the next three years Comcast must continue to offer high-speed Internet as a stand-alone service. That service has to transmit content at speeds of at least 6 megabits per second and initially can’t cost more than $49.95 a month.

Also, Comcast can not discriminate between Web services, for example, by transmitting some at faster speeds than others.

•Local news. NBC-owned stations collectively will add 1,000 hours a year of local news programming; Telemundo-owned stations also will add 1,000 hours of local news.

Comcast says that it will develop video-on-demand programming for public interest groups, schools and government agencies. It also will work with providers of neighborhood-level news, so-called hyperlocal news.

•Kids. Comcast will add an hour a week of educational programming for kids on NBC and Telemundo stations it owns and will add 1,500 kids’ shows to its video-on-demand lineup.

•Diversity. Comcast says it will offer its TV subscribers four additional, independently owned channels with Hispanic content and four with shows for African Americans.

It also says it will “significantly increase” programming for Asian Americans.