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For weeks now I've been hearing buzz that GE chairman Jeff Immelt has cut a deal with Jeff Zucker so he'll stay chief of NBC Universal, where he's spent his entire career, in the event of a sale. "That this guy keeps failing upward is an extraordinary thing," one of my sources marveled. Now Bloomberg is quoting "three people with knowledge of the situation" that Comcast's Brian Robert and Steve Burke are leaning toward keeping the NBC Universal chief and his management team if it gains control of the GE unit. But any sale depends on Vivendi voting at an October 14th board meeting to sell the 20% NBCU stake. Gee, Brian/Steve are supposed to be smart guys. So why do people lose 100 IQ points when they come anywhere near NBCU?
Meanwhile, there's new insight into why Comcast may want NBCU. A recent report from SNL Kagan projects that cable TV operators like Comcast will lose subscribers to DirecTV and Dish and AT&T and Verizon that offer video along with their phone and online services. Even Comcast admits growth is slowing because of "increased competition.” And online is a rival: Kagan says the number of people getting their TV from the Internet will double by 2019. As BusinessWeek points out, "you can imagine that Comcast wants to get its hands on a major content creator like NBC and its Hulu before that happens."
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The true damage Zucker has done to this company has not yet come out yet. Keeping him and his management team is totally irresponsible and makes me wonder if he has compromising pictures of GE’s CEO, Immelt. These are two of the most-incompetent CEOs in American business history since both only excel at driving down their company’s stock price, image and market value.
I’ve never understood how Jeff Zucker keeps his jobs, muchless moves up and up and up. He made an absolute mess of the Today Show, then made an even worse mess of NBC. The network is an embarrassment. I’ve never cared for Conan O’Brian, and I checked out the opening ten minutes of Leno. What brainstorming led them to put Conan on the Tonight Show? Even now, with Leno in the dumpster, they try to spin the blame onto leadin programing. And when they mistakenlly air a decent show, they fool around with the time by being liberal with their :01 overlaps and underlaps. Then they air syndicated entertainment programs that are nothing but jazzed up tabloids. Obviously Zucker delivers on the cheap and realizes a hefty profit. Don’t they realize that they can make a profit and reach some level of quality, something they have been sorely missing since the birth of Zucker? Zucker is like Berlanti TV on CBS. If either names are associated, we avoid. Wise up NBC.
Having spent nearly a decade helping move NBC from #4 to #1 and staying there for 7 seasons, it’s simply astonishing that Jeff Zucker has managed to keep his job as long as he has. Maybe he was a visionary Exec Producer of the Today Show, but he has run this network into the ground and taken the premier broadcast network and turned it into a cable network. Not a single major hit under his watch and he’s run through a series of programming heads, fired some who were smarter than he, kept some like Ben Silverman for far too long and presided over some of the biggest disasters in broadcast network history like buying The Contender for $2 million an hour – a show NO woman would watch and that is the primary network audience. The Tonight show has accounted for sometimes as much as 45% of NBC’s profits. He GAVE Jay Leno’s spot to Conan five years ago without thinking where Jay would go???? Jay was the #1 800 lb gorilla for more than the last DECADE, with no sign of weakening. Jimmy Fallon bested Conan’s best numbers within two weeks of taking over. Conan would have been the easiest piece to replace. Conan is TANKING, as he should and Jay is tanking up against the monster CBS lineup. Soon we’ll see affiliates start to defect as their lead in to the 11PM news withers and their rate cards wither with it. This is a DISASTER than only a fool would have allowed to happen. Zucker should have been fired long ago. He’s killing that network. The only smart move he’s made was promoting Angela Bromstad. PLEASE, make him go away. I watched my GE stock fall from $62 a share to a low of $5.30.
Nikki – Did we not learn anything from the Emmanuel/Wiatt fiasco? In a merger/acquisition, the aquiring company must keep the target company’s management moving the ball forward and then once the deal is closed, all bets are off. What are Brian/Steve supposed to be saying at this point? “Jeff, help us win control of NBCU and then, as a reward, we’ll FIRE you?” GE wants off the NBCU train, they’ve found a buyer that has a strategic need for the company (as opposed to Vivendi or Seagrams) and no one, including Zucker, is going to stand in the way. Not exactly sure what “cut a deal” means – but really…is Immelt going to paper a promise like that? Even if he did, so they pay Zucker a few million to go away…chump change in a deal this size.
Replying to the NIKKI comment: This is the most intelligent comment of the day. STAY ALERT PEOPLE. Zucker, like fat that rises to the top, will be recognized by Comcast as a bad move to keep Zucker in power longer than they need him. Once Comcast buys NBCUBI, all bets are off. He will be dumped. Or like fat, scooped off the top. Notice, Comcast isn’t really saying anything. The comment alleged by Jeff Immelt to keep Zucker on is rediculous since GE will have only a 49% share, and 49% has no say in the matter. Don’t be swayed by frivolous reporting.
Awesome! The day of the deal, I’m calling my broker and shorting Comcast / NBC Uni.
I think Ron Meyer would do well atop NBCU, but I’m sure he would never leave his current gig.
Leaving Zucker in place makes me lose a bit of respect for Comcast.
Might be time to sell them short….
Jeff Zucker alone has decimated the labor force in Los Angeles. You multply that by the family members of each laborer and you have thousands of people pe*d on and he gets a Golden Trophy. Coupled weith the mailer Universal sent out regarding their expansion plans asking those he has hurt directly to turn the other cheek so UNI can expand. Comcast taking on Uni with Zucker
still aboard is a slap to the people of Los Angeles. There is no one else that they can find. They have all new upper mgt anyway so what has He personally done to guide the fortunes if UNI in a positive way. Every Union should be on the steps of the Blacktower
protesting the sale if Zucker is still allowed to be there. Politcal pressure should be applied not to allow this to go through. The LA City Council now has turned somewhat profilming
seeing the ramifications of runaway production. Now they need to look at Universal and Zucker and see if we want to continue with their anti labor approach to running their corporation. Waxman or Berman Boxer or Feinstein seriously should be petitioned to put a “timeout on this deal” if Zucker is allowed to stay. I saw him give an interview during the writers strike. He was salivating then smirking to the camera with the Jay Leno fiasco in his mind.
He knew the effect it would have on PEOPLE and on his Accounting.
And they didnt go in the same direction. People got screwed. Now Southland goes. Why? They still have to pay millions to get out from under it. Keep Leno you jerk. NBC affiliates must love the fact they have no ratings going into the late news. And UNI may never get those eyeballs back. God he is an arrogant ignorant idiot. Universal is like a toilet bowl that is backed up. You flush most of it down, but the true cr*p floats to the top in the shape of a Z.
RG Valley Guy,
You are a bafoon. Last time I checked, its not the job of media company’s CEO’s to create jobs for you hollywood guys who have no idea how business works. It’s their job to make profits. Get a clue. Take a business class.
Shayne’s got it right. And knowing that Comcast has Jeff Shell and hs very close friend is Peter Liguori and you have to figure the management changes as soon as the drama of the deal calms down. If the Comcast play for NBC Uni happens the death knell for the remarkably untalented Zucker will finally ring true.
Comcast’s move on NBCU now is to discourage Vivendi and other suitors from making an offer before the October 14 deadline. In a lot of ways, Comcast now is like the eBay bidder who makes a bid to drive up the price but has no intention of buying the item on sale for the current sale price. After October 14, Comcast will offer GE a lowball final bid for a majority holding in NBCU. In the merged NBC and Universal, you have the equivalent of two garbage trucks colliding. A network with almost no hits and a movie studio that has stopped greenlighting movies. Should Comcast end up buying NBCU on its draconian financial terms, expect Comcast to sell KNBC and WNBC to cover part of the acquisition cost. As for Jeff Zucker, he may get a production deal from Universal after Comcast boots him out, or maybe he gets nothing, just like Dick Cook at the mouse house.
WTF?
Jeff Zucker has destroyed an entire network !!!
With the way things are going, USA will be the new 4th network…
Just because he made TODAY profitable, is not a reason to continue to allow his poor judgement and non existent network running ability.
Someday, hopefully very soon, the executives and shareholders will recognize his inability to make solid ‘CREATIVE’ decisions…
When the ree ree started, the network was number 1…
Now Telemundo has more to offer !!!
Jeff Zucker is the anti-christ to network television !!!
Obvi-
I’m definitely no Zucker apologist, but look at what you’re saying as it impacts all of NBCU. While Zucker has clearly relied on stopgap fixes and gimmicks, the decades-long trend in television has been towards cable and away from the networks. If NBC is still profitable, USA is the “4th network” and Telemundo has increasingly more to offer, then *you* are saying that Zucker presides over three of the six most important channels on television. (I’m leaving out CW ’cause it sucks.) And that’s without addressing all the other cable properties in NBCU. Granted, the studio is — to be charitable — having some issues, but they’ve just cleaned house and perhaps could turn around at some point.
So yeah, Obvi has no idea what’s going on. (Perhaps I’m just feeding a troll.) From my limited vantage point, Shayne appears to know what’s up.
Immeltdowncompanies…I mean Immelt is setting his scape goat up with a deal so Sucker can renegotiate and or use it as leverage to go to some other media unsavvy company and ruin it.
Where is Greg Meidel when we need him?
Jeff Zucker is obviously on borrowed time. He has no big fans in Jeff Shell or Steve Burke, (or any NBCUni rank and file for that matter) who’ll be making the call once they have control.
They already have one of the biggest stars in the business on their bench. That would be Lauren Zalaznick. Making her head honcho of all broadcast and cable would be a bold and brilliant move on their part. One of the most incisive business and creative minds in TV, end of story. And her people love her. It’s called inspiration, and that word will never, ever be associated with Jeff Zucker.
If they don’t promote her, she’ll just pull a Joe Torre and be a champion elsewhere.
An interesting post, but why hasn’t Lauren Zalaznick gotten a bigger job yet? With all the turmoil at NBC why wasn’t she positioned better? Scripted content is the answer and its why she won’t get the big NBC gig either. Comcast will look to change the culture for sure and an outsider, probably from the world of Fox, will get the gig. Especially if theres any truth to the concept of NBC going to basic cable and completely imploding their broken business in order to reset the table . The bigger question to consider from a personnel standpoint is what happens to Messrs Gaspin an Graboff? Big write downs for sure.
Lauren Zalaznick is good for Bravo, but I can’t see her running all of NBCU. Bonnie Hammer would have a better shot than Lauren. That’s not against Lauren, but the way. It just isn’t going to happen.
There are few things worse as a consumer than being a customer of Comcast. Awful.
Run for the hills.
Yeah, Comcast will spew all the crap about keeping ole Jeff Zucker in place at NBC until the deal closes and the real makeover begins. They can’t be that stupid to retain Zucker in any capacity except to have him show them what’s left of NBC once the proverbial dust settles. Once that is done – my money says Zucker will be kicked to the curb – albeit with some disgusting amount of money in his pocket – then Comcast remakes NBC into a viable network once again with smart leadership. Zucker has consistently proven to be beyond stupid and frankly, inept at understanding what viewable programming really is. It just goes to show you – a whiz kid who gets morning tv a decade ago ain’t the solution for a broken business model. I am sure Liguori would love the chance to come in and really have some fun creating a network that attracts real audiences and provides value to their sponsors.
NBC is dying and the problems rest with the top,i.e. Zucker. If Comcast wants to spend all that money and keep an incompetent in charge, then good luck to them. It won’t affect me as I – along with millions of others – will continue to stay with the competition.
Can’t wait to read the book about all this once the dust settles.
I sincerely hope Shayne, AC and We watch and wait are correct in their predictions. If not, then who do I have to f@#k to get Jeff Zucker out of NCBU?!
If this report is true, I cannot believe my eyes and ears that Comcast would want to retain the services of this jackass and his useless managerial staff, who have literally destroyed NBC in the last few years time. What’s the head of Comcast thinking here? Is he insane? The idea is to remove the garbage that’s hurting your property, not retain him so he can pour more fuel to the fire and really set the network ablaze. Now I hope the sale DOESN’T go through.
Comcast will need to take a hard look at their content (Golf, Versus, E!, Style, etc.) and marketing. While their programming model calls for each show to run repeatedly with subtle refreshes every once in a great while, the marketing and online components are absolutely the worst in the business. The marketing is about innovativd, uninspired and tired as it gets. Online is an absolute bore – and with two or three hits a month, the website traffic is dismal.
This is a defensive move by Comcast, in the future people will pay for content and/or clever services like Netflix. Cable/internet/phone will be bundled and under constant price pressure. Comcast has be become a content provider not just provide a “pipe”.
Comcast lacks the expertise running a business with the size and complexity of NBCU, so they will keep the management intact they can figure out what they can/should do better. The negotiations between Versus and DirectTV are hardly reassuring.
Remember “Comcast must Die” blog for frustrated customers, it took the company 2+ years to figure out they need to fix their horrible customer service and revise internal processes. How long do you think it will take them to figure out how to fix “NBC”.
Sure they know hoe to buy and integrate cable systems, but content creation and management ?
Nikki I am sure you could give them a primer on what has gone wrong..and what they could be doing to improve things….but will they pay attention to it.
I will be surprised if this does not result in value destruction for Comcast shareholders. No doubt Zucker and company will be laughing all the way to the bank.
With $12 billion in debt I really don’t think Comcast is worried about rebuilding NBC. It’s about the money, power, just think of the interest NBCU/Comcast will have to pay on that $12 billion in debt.
Besides what they want is Hulu, NBC Universal Cable channels , and Universal Studios not NBC. Who in their right mind wants a dying platform like a broadcast network? In 10 years with Internet they won’t even exist except as another channel on cable/satellite.
If you’re a cable operator who pays for channels each month, wouldn’t you want to own thirteen cable channels (Bravo, Universal HD, Chiller, CNBC, CNBC World, MSNBC, The Weather Channel, Syfy, ShopNBC, Telemundo, Sleuth, USA Network and part ownership in A&E, the History Channel, the Biography Channel,
With that kind of lineup who needs NBC.
If Comcast puts money into NBC and leaves the current freaks in charge of the news department, I will immediately switch to Direct TV or Dish Network. Bye bye Comcast!
ABC, CBS & FOX are jumping up and down with laughter that NBC will be keeping Jeff Zucker calling the shots at NBC’s programing. GE just wants to get rid of the company and all it’s key people. They found a sucker with Comcast.
Zucker, schmucker. Do I really care anymore? I’ve stopped watching NBC except for The Office. Simple as that.
Comcast: to buy and hold or to buy and short? That is the question.
Nick and Shaye are right.
Obviously Comcast owes Zucker big time for driving down the worth of the network to make it affordable – but if you intend to grow audience, he’s not the guy. Maybe keep him around to be the hatchet man for all the people Comcast wants to let go, and then get rid of Zucker, he’ll get a nice parting gift, start his own production company, maybe hook up with Ben Silverman.
Who watches NBC anymore anyway?
When I’m surfing for something to watch, it’s the dead last place to look.
Hey, that would make a good slogan.
Comcast must have their own Zucker to make such a stupid deal.
NBC, home of some of the highest rated, most trusted primetime shows on television, had been in the radio broadcasting industry for many years. I am listening to great NBC Radio programming on
SIRIUS-XM Radio Classics Channel:
Gang Busters
Bill Stern Colgate Shave Cream Sports Newsreel
The Johnson’s Wax Program Starring Fibber McGee & Molly
Dragnet
X Minus One
Behind the Mike
Just Plain Bill
… and many other NBC Radio Network franchises past and present
“You are what your record says you are,” Bill Parcells. Zucker inherited the #1 TV network and during his tenure has taken it from first to worst and buried it there.
I know everyone is bashing on Zucker. Under his watch NBC has floundered. But the cable properties have done very well and Universal Pictures have done fine also. I think he is a good business manager and just sucks at choosing managers with creative/talent. It was Ben Silverman who did the damage to NBC while laughing on his way to the bank. He was a horrible choice for NBC. Zucker just needs to be better at choosing an NBC Creative head.
What has Jeff Zucker done that is really that bad since he got the CEO gig? Hmm, well NBC prime hasn’t turned around. Sure, that is true. What most of you hollywood people don’t realize is that NBC’s prime is 5% of NBCU’s bottom line. Yep, 5%. His cable nets are thriving and have grown tremendously, he has positioned NBCU in a good place for digital, and he has made smart purchases (Oxygen, Weather Channel).
I hate to break the news to you actors/writers/producers etc, but there is so much more to this business than what you guys do. These companies are so much bigger than you guys. A lot of you don’t realize that.
Joe, I know what you’re saying. 49% of me totally gets it. Yet, 51% wishes that Zucker would just take all his piles of cash and go live on an island and stop contributing to the creative downfall of network television. Does he not have enough? Is there something else he needs to accomplish before he dies? It’s a poor legacy he leaves behind as he continues this spiral. By the way, Jackie D. is responsible for the success of USA because she looked for GOOD product. It IS the Entertainment business after all. Remembering the bottom line is important, but let’s not also forget the basic spirit of why directors, actors, writers, cinemaphotographers, set designers and the like would rather spend their 24/7 on projects that don’t embarrass them. Jeff Zucker. Remote Island. Go There!
WOW, NETWORK TELEVISION STILL AROUND..JOE CONGRATS YOU GET IT AND SO DOES COMCAST.
is there anybody more hated in the television business than Zucker? Who the FUCK would be brainless enough to keep him in that job? (I mean, besides all the stupid asses at GE who have continued to promote him for systematically destroying NBC with his bad taste in programming and executives.) In fact, since GE loves him so much, why don’t they take him with them? Talk about win-win! Transfer him over to Jet Engines or Wind Turbines. It’s not like he’ll know any less about that than he does network television. And none of us will ever have to look at him again! And for the love of god, get rid of some of those development execs. That so-called comedy guy–the tall one who stares at the wall when you pitch to him and is so fucking boring I can’t even remember his name. Bromstad’s supposedly not bad — at least she’s pretty — but the rest, they should just CLEAN FUCKING HOUSE and start fresh.