NBCU’s Zucker Bullish on Upfronts

NEW YORK, June 15: NBC Universal’s president and CEO, Jeff
Zucker, said yesterday that the company is expecting $4 billion in upfront
advertising revenues for the 2007-2008 season, up from last year’s $3.9
billion.

NBC, which has struggled to come out of its fourth-place
ranking among the broadcast networks, is expected to account for about $1.9
billion of that sum. Zucker’s estimates come a few days after NBC Universal
inked a $1-billion upfront deal with WPP Group.

Zucker made the comments at an investor conference, the
company’s first in two years. According to wire reports, Zucker notes that
operating profit is expected to rise about 10 percent, on a five-percent
revenue increase. "That's obviously just our early look," Zucker is
quoted as saying. "We feel good about it."

Those gains will be partly driven by digital revenues, which
are expected to hit $1 billion this year, with a 50-percent gain anticipated
for 2008. Beth Comstock, the president of integrated media at the company,
noted: "We're ahead of plan in terms of the profitability and the revenue
we're able to bring about in digital."