Jeff Zucker to Exit NBCU Post-Merger

NEW YORK: Jeff Zucker has said he will step down as chief executive of NBC Universal following the company’s merger with Comcast Corporation.

The Comcast takeover of NBCU is likely to be complete by year-end, once regulatory approvals are in place. Zucker told the New York Times that the decision to leave was not his own choice. Comcast’s COO, Steve Burke, Zucker told the Times, "made it clear that they wanted to move on at the close of the deal and I was completely comfortable with that.” He went on to describe his impending departure as “incredibly emotional” and “gut-wrenching in the sense that you have spent your whole life here at NBC.”

He went on to say, "Look, I knew from the day this was announced that this was a possibility. I wasn’t going to shut the door on anything. But in the last nine months it became increasingly clear that they did want to put their own team in place — and I didn’t want to end up being a guest in my own house.”

Announcing his departure to NBCU staff, Zucker said, "I haven’t even begun to think about the next chapter."