A few well-placed, almost surgical moves announced late last month to the executive lineup in the emerging NBC Universal merger with cable giant Comcast.
And it reveals the accepted wisdom that the cable programming division was “clearly the crown jewel asset” of the whole deal in general, as satellite television analyst James Ratcliffe at Barclays Capital so aptly put it.
Of course, the thing getting all the attention is the NBC television network. But the thing that's making all the money is the highly prized cable programming business. One Hollywood executive who's gonna be negotiating deals with the new Comcast hydra put it this way: “I'm not really sure how much they care about the network anymore.”
Top cable executives Lauren Zalaznick, and rising management star Bonnie Hammer saw their portfolios expanded, along with NBC’s top sports executive Dick Ebersol. Ms. Hammer, becomes chairwoman of the entire cable entertainment division and will supervise the channels USA, SyFy, E-Entertainment, G4, Chiller and Sleuth. The Bravo and Oxygen channels go to Ms. Zalaznick.
Out in the cold – some of the biggest names at NBC Universal, topped by network CEO Jeff Zucker and NBC primetime television programming head Jeff Gaspin. The cost of settling these contracts now rumored to include a request for departing NBC managers to stay on just one day into the new joint venture between Comcast and NBC’s former controlling owner, General Electric which means Comcast would be accountable according to 51 percent of the settlement packages, with G.E. on the hook for the other 49 percent.
But then, as Steve Lohr put it, writing a recent article for The New York Times:
"Perhaps General Electric could finally go back to what it knows best – making good, old fashioned hardware and stuff."
Jim Furrer
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