EXCLUSIVE: Hulu Expands in NoMad
Hulu.com has expanded its space at 276 Fifth Avenue, adding 4,710 square feet on the fifth floor, the Commercial Observer has learned. Read More
NBC Universal
Jon Stewart’s Wrist Lacerated by Instant Karma
Traditional media companies, the FCC's "Future of Media Report" has nothing to offer you. [WSJ] Time Warner is in talks to buy the American version of OK! magazine, which is like a British version of People, from owner Richard Desmond. [BSkyB] NBCUniversal will pay Blackstone $1 B for their stake in Universal Read More
Let’s Be Upfront: NBCU Boss Scores Park Views from Oxygen Founder
Though he is the No. 2 executive at Comcast, Stephen Burke actually made more money than his boss Brian Roberts for the past two years, with his 2010 compensation topping out at $34.74 million. Mr. Burke was promoted to run Comcast's recently acquired NBC Universal unit, so naturally he would need a crash pad closer to Read More
NBC Inks Massive Deal at Rock Center
In their first move since being acquired by Kableto--er--Comcast, NBC Universal just inked a 10-year deal for over 1.4 million square feet of office condos at Rockefeller Center, with over 700,000 square feet of it at 30 Rock alone, the Post reports.
In addition to the massive lease at 30 Rock, NBCU has 475,000 Read More
‘Approval Matrix’ Show Aims for Brilliant
Faith Salie sounded exhilarated when we spoke to her around eight last night. The TV special she hosted, a television adaptation of New York magazine's highbrow/lowbrow "Approval Matrix" feature, had just finished taping: "It's hot off the presses--today's news." The thirty-minute special, titled The Approval Matrix as well, is to air tonight at 11p.m., Read More
Jeff Zucker, Unemployed Man, to Receive Award at Star-Studded Center for Communication Luncheon
Former NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker will be honored at the Center for Communication's Annual Luncheon on Nov. 1, according to an update on the center's website. At the ceremony Zucker will receive the Frank Stanton award for his work in media.
Zucker's current work in media, however, is a bit up in the air. Read More
Kabletow—er, Comcast—CFO Buys Hampshire House Co-op for $4.6 M.
"This is an exciting time for NBC; not Seinfeld, Friends, ER exciting, but more like 3D espisodes of Merlin exciting."
So adaged fictional NBC executive Jack Donaghy on the network's self-jabbing sitcom 30 Rock. Donaghy, played by Alec Baldwin, was referring to the network's acquisition by cable conglomerate Kabletown—"with a K." And while Comcast, the Read More
Cooling Ratings for Morning Joe
Morning Joe's mix of "hard news, politics, [and] intellectual rigor" looked like a good bet a year ago, but now it's "struggling to hang onto viewers," reports Felix Gilette. And its ratings woes come at a pivotal moment for NBC Universal:
Currently, teams of bankers are combing over every detail of the company's books in preparation Read More
People Who Aren’t Buying NBC Universal
Reuters reported earlier today that Rupert Murdoch may be bidding on NBC Universal, but the general consensus of the blogs is that he is not.
Mediaite rounds up the "eyebrow-raising" rumors of Murdoch's interest (might it include " a terrifying fox/peacock hybrid" logo?) but concludes that such a deal "probably isn’t going Read More
NBC Universal Seeking Another Round of Voluntary Buyouts from News Staff
Looks like the buyout offers are coming early this year at 30 Rock.
The Observer has learned that in recent days NBC Universal executives have approached a large number of employees across its news divisions and bureaus, announcing that the company is looking for unspecified number of staffers to take voluntary buyouts. In a series of Read More
All Hail, Tony Hale!
What if you could rewind your life? What if erasing a work tantrum or reliving a first kiss was as easy as tapping a few keys on your keyboard? "We all want to be able to control destiny," said Tony Hale over the phone the other day. Mr. Hale, best known as Buster Bluth in Read More
Train TV: NBC Local Media Keeps on Chugging
The plight of the modern media company is how to feed an increasing number of platforms with a decreasing number of journalists—er, content creators. In recent years, nowhere has this dynamic been more dramatic than at NBC Universal's local media division. Over the past year, NBCU in New York has rolled out a new 24-hour Read More
It’s Official: WNBC-4 Replacing 5 P.M. News with Lifestyle Show
Last month, The Observer reported that NBC Universal was working on developing a daily lifestyle show which could, as soon as this fall, replace 5 p.m. newscasts at NBC stations around the country.
Today, NBC made it official.
According to the press release, the daily, hour-long "daily information, lifestyle and entertainment show" will debut on September Read More
David Carey, Jason Binn, and Others Get ‘Introspective’ At Condé Nast Executive Cafeteria
You would think that a book sporting the subtitle How Successful People Do It—And What We Can Learn From Them is about being hideously successful and how to get there. But at the book party for What Makes You Tick? Wednesday Night at the Condé Nast Building, co-author Michael Berland made sure to note—repeatedly—that Read More
Scarborough/Bloomberg Not Quite Frost/Nixon!
At 5 a.m. on the morning of Monday, March 9, after many months of planning, NBC Universal at long last unveiled its 24-hour hyper-local newslike cable channel, called New York Nonstop (Channel 161 on Time Warner cable!).
Some 12 hours later, Chuck Scarborough, who for decades has been the face of Read More
