NBCU/Comcast Deal Marches Forward; Zucker to Head New Entity

Posted on November 10, 2009, 9:28 PM, by Voiceguy, under Media Business.

Reuters is reporting that the NBC Universal/Comcast joint venture deal is all but finalized, and that NBCU’s current CEO Jeff Zucker, who has presided over NBC’s downward spiral into fourth place, is slated to head the new entity.

It is gratifying to see the Peter Principle alive and well.

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3 Comments

  1. geo says:
    November 10, 2009 at 9:38 PM

    I recently saw an interesting piece that suggested that rather than sell NBC and the OandOs as quickly as possible (as I had been assuming would be the case), that Comcast might instead attempt to leverage some of the earliest “reality” programming owned by NBC (that would be Sports) with their own regional Comcast Sports Networks and cable properties (like Golf Channel and Versus).

    So, maybe yes and maybe no –but I’m no longer nearly as sure that Comcast will be looking to get rid of NBC and the OandOs as quickly as humanly possible.

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  2. Stuart Creque says:
    November 11, 2009 at 4:54 PM

    Via MSNBC.com:

    Leno and NBC argue that his cost-efficient show is priced to turn a profit even at a 1.5 rating among 18-49-year-olds, but the numbers have dipped below even that low threshold.

    A late October report in Advertising Age suggested NBC has only been able to charge on average less than $60,000 per 30-second spot on “Leno,” half what CBS has been getting for rookie drama “The Good Wife” and a quarter what ABC demands for “Grey’s Anatomy.”

    Then there is what Bill Carter and others have been calling “the Leno effect.” The New York Times television columnist and author of “The Late Shift” (the book on the Leno/David Letterman toss up over “Tonight”) said Leno’s low 10 p.m. score has hurt NBC’s entire schedule.

    “They had to move ‘Law & Order: SVU’ to 9 o’clock to accommodate ‘Leno,’” Carter said. “That was a time period-winning show for many years and it’s finishing last at 9 o’clock. Now they’ve got a fourth-place show.”

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  3. Neil Hassman says:
    November 12, 2009 at 9:55 AM

    The biggest problem in all this (as I see it) is Mr. Zucker. This is a man who has NEVER admitted an error, NEVER admitted any programming missteps, etc.

    He is the most accomplished “Upward Failer” in the history of man.

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