Restructure Expected at NBC Universal

NEW YORK, February 5: At a meeting tomorrow, the board of
directors at NBC Universal is expected to appoint Jeff Zucker as the company’s
new CEO, succeeding Bob Wright.

Wright, now 63, has run NBC for almost two decades. Zucker,
currently the CEO of NBC Universal Television Group, has been touted as
Wright’s likely successor for some time now. According to the New York Times, the board at GE, NBC Universal’s parent company,
began discussing the succession plan at a meeting last month. Zucker is said to
be the top choice for GE’s chairman and CEO, Jeffrey Immelt. Zucker has spent
his entire career at NBC, first making a name for himself as executive producer
of the Today show.

Wright, meanwhile, is said to have wanted to stay on as
chief executive of NBC Universal until at least the end of the year. Immelt,
however, anxious to further build on the ratings gains NBC made this season and
continue the company’s expansion into digital media, reportedly wants the
transition to take place now. Wright is expected to remain as chairman for a
transition period.