Before the final deal goes through, the United States Justice Department will review the deal for cable giant Comcast to purchase a controlling stake in NBC Universal, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The review is seen as a formality for the deal and experts expect the Justice Department will sign off on the deal.

The announcement settles questions about whether the federal antitrust review of the deal, announced late last year, will be handled by Justice or the Federal Trade Commission. The FCC must also approve the combination, including the transfer of the NBC broadcast licenses to Comcast.

Even though federal regulators are expected to approve the transaction, many analysts and watchdogs believe they will attach significant conditions because a merger would give the nation’s largest cable TV operator control of a vast media empire as well.

Comcast is seeking to buy a 51% stake in NBC Universal from General Electric Co., which is acquiring the portion of NBC that it doesn’t already own from France’s Vivendi SA.

Both the Justice Department and the FCC will focus on the implications of allowing one company to control of both the creation and the distribution of content.

NBC Universal owns the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks; 26 local TV stations; an array of popular cable channels including CNBC, Bravo and Oxygen; the Universal Pictures movie studio and theme parks; and a stake in Hulu, which distributes free television programming online.

Comcast, meanwhile, has 23.8 million cable TV customers and owns some cable channels already, including E! Entertainment and the Golf Channel, as well as a controlling interest in the Philadelphia 76ers and Flyers.

Comcast’s planned acquisition of NBC Universal will face a tough review at the Justice Department, where its antitrust chief, Christine Varney, has vowed to ramp up enforcement and take a tough look at potential abuses of market power.

Still, things may not have been any easier at the FTC, an independent agency whose members are nominated by the White House and approved by the Senate. Although the legal analysis at the two agencies would be the same, the FTC is potentially less insulated from political pressure.