The Federal Communications Commission on Friday extended the public comment period for the joint venture between Comcast Corp and NBC Universal because it has not received additional economic data requested from the companies supporting their deal.

The agency said it has not received one report to support the claimed benefits from the transaction and another addressing the potential impacts on online video distribution.

In an order the FCC said Comcast and NBCU have agreed to file the materials but would not be able to do so until close to the May 3 deadline to submit public comments.

To give the public enough time to study and analyze the companies' reports, the FCC said it will set a new deadline of 45 days after the reports are filed with the agency.

We believe this action will ensure that all parties will have sufficient time to review and comment on the applications, including these supplemental materials, the FCC order said.

The additional time includes 30 days for initial comments and another 15 days for replies to the FCC.

Comcast did not say when it will file the supplemental materials. We'll be submitting these reports as soon as possible, Comcast spokesperson Sena Fitzmaurice said.

The FCC and the Department of Justice's antitrust regulators are reviewing the proposed $30 billion deal.

(Reporting by John Poirier; Editing by Richard Chang)

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