Posted on 01/13/2010 4:58:08 AM PST by Zakeet
Right about now, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts is likely in his office curled up in the fetal position wondering if Jeff Zucker is going to destroy his $20 billion investment in NBC Universal before the deal even closes.
The very private Roberts is no doubt cringing as he watches the late-night fiasco Zucker personally orchestrated play out like a corporate version of "The Biggest Loser" without the weight loss.
The media glare generated by Zucker's Machiavellian treatment of Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien, two of NBC's biggest stars, goes against everything that Comcast, a family-run company that rarely lets internal battles spill into public view, represents.
[Snip]
What's worse is that Roberts can't do anything about the situation. Comcast's deal to acquire 51 percent of NBC Universal -- just announced in December -- won't be approved until September at the earliest, if it is approved at all. Until then, all Roberts can do is watch from the sidelines.
[Snip]
Historically, Zucker has managed to not only survive screw-ups such as this one, but also get promoted in spite of them. Indeed, industry observers were shocked that he remained in charge of NBC Universal after the Comcast deal. They were downright appalled when he got a contract extension to 2013.
That contract, however, appears to be window dressing. Conventional wisdom is that Comcast will buy out Zucker's contract and cut him loose within a few months of the deal's closing.
After all, Zucker isn't exactly making a great first impression on his new bosses. But he is leaving a lasting one -- that of a doofus who has managed to turn a storied broadcast network into a programming junkyard of last resort.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Storied broadcast network ping
Also adding the worthless, Al Roker, to the Weather Channel.
It could be that NBC doesn’t matter any way. When rended asunder and reassembled as a cable company, the network elements can be distributed among the cable elements and the network abandoned.
In the new age the network is obsolete.
Roast Young Peacock
Slinge, draw, and stuff a peacock with forcemeat. Truss it for roasting and roast it in a moderate oven (350° F.) for about 20 minutes per pound, or until well browned and tender, basting very frequently with melted butter. Serve hot with pan gravy or cold with chopped jelly and cold sauce poivrade.
To make the forcemeat, soak 1 pound of bread crumbs in milk and press out the moisture. Combine it with 1 pound of chopped beef marrow, the peacock liver, finely chopped, 10 shallots or 1 onion, chopped and stewed in butter until tender, 1 tablespoon each chopped green celery leaf and parsley, and a little sage, marjoram, and thyme. Season with cayenne, nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste.
Or destroying The Weather Channel period. Alot of familiar faces got sacked. I don’t recognize most of them.
You can sure tell the wizards of NBC are at work on The Weather Channel, a lot less real time weather (local radar being the prime reason people tune in) and an increasing amount of global warming BS.
” If you don’t watch NBC, we will shave Conan’s head!!”
They can shuffle the chairs all they want. Moving the time slot will not make a difference for Leno, he lost his mojo. Programmers played with the golden goose and lost. Viewers went elsewhere ie: google, redbox, youtube, freerepublic.
Schadenfreude. This is what happens to your network when you put an unprincipled, amoral egomaniac in charge. Leno has been treated shamefully, and so has O’Brien. Regardless of what you think of them as performers, this is not a way to treat anyone, and it isn’t a way to do business.
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