Jeff Zucker Should Have Been Fired Long Ago

In a move that should have surprised no one,  Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) said today that it was replacing Jeff Zucker as head of NBC Universal once the business is sold by General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE)  The amazing part is that GE didn’t do it first.

Not only is NBC’s Prime Time schedule a mess, but the media giant’s movie business is not doing so hot either, ranking sixth this year in box office receipts, according to Box Office Mojo.  Its theme park business, like Walt Disney Co.’s (NYSE: DIS), is no doubt suffering because of the economy, while its cable properties such as CNBC continue to lose audience.    The bright spots such as Bravo, “NBC Nightly News” and the “Today” show are not enough to make up for the shortfall.

Profit during the first six months of the year at NBC Universal fell 13 percent to $806 million.  Revenue jumped 14 percent to $8.07 billion during that same time.  That seems to be the byproduct of cost-cutting, discounting advertising rates and the like.   Stephen Burke, Zucker’s replacement, will demand better.

Zucker always tried to argue that ratings were not everything. So, “3o Rock” will be an interesting challenge for Burke.  The Emmy-award winning sitcom is a critical darling and attracts  a small but devoted following. NBC has always backed the show arguing that its audience was young and well-heeled which interests advertisers.  Unfortunately, the show is expensive to produce with a big-named pricey cast.  Creator Tina Fey has even joked about this and the show even takes jabs at Comcast.

The last laugh will be on Zucker.

–Jonathan Berr