Wall Street Journal
January 27,2011
By SAM SCHECHNER
On the eve of taking control of NBC Universal, Comcast Corp. executives on Thursday hosted a company-wide meeting with employees to introduce themselves and spell out their priorities, including fixing NBC's prime-time hours.
Steve Burke, who is set become chief executive of NBC Universal, used the event to set a new tone for the company, introducing a new corporate logo. At the meeting—with live segments beamed from New York, Los Angeles, London, Miami and Philadelphia—Mr. Burke also discussed a new corporate "credo" that reads, in part, "We like to keep score and win."
Comcast is set to close its deal to buy control of NBC Universal from General Electric Co. late Friday. In that deal, approved last week by regulators, Comcast is merging its suite of cable networks with NBC Universal's assets, and will take a 51% stake in the new entity. In the deal, Comcast is contributing cash and assets worth roughly $13.75 billion.
Employees were greeted in their offices Thursday by signs and cupcakes bearing the new logo, and a welcome package that included a thick book detailing the histories of Comcast, NBC and the Universal studio. They also were given certificates for 25 shares of Comcast stock, about a $575 value.
NBC's colorful iconic peacock will remain a fixture in the logos for NBC, MSNBC and CNBC. But the logo for company itself, to be called NBCUniversal, removes both the peacock and the outline of a globe from Universal's logo. The old logo was introduced when NBC and Universal merged in 2004. The logo also deletes the space between NBC and Universal: Legally, NBC Universal will be known as NBCUniversal, as it appears in the new logo, a person familiar with the matter said.
The company-wide meeting, streamed online for employees not attending in person, included appearances from Comcast founder Ralph Roberts, as well as his son, and Comcast CEO, Brian Roberts.
Mr. Burke, interviewed in New York by "NBC Nightly News" anchor Brian Williams, said that fixing NBC's evening hours is a prime priority.
Robert Greenblatt, whom Mr. Burke has appointed to run NBC's entertainment operations, has his work cut out for him. NBC dominated prime time in the 1990s and early 2000s, but has tumbled most of its competitors.
Mr. Greenblatt has already started ordering pilot episodes of potential new series for the fall schedule. They include "Smash," a musical about putting on a Broadway musical, and "Are You there Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea," a sitcom based on an autobiography by Chelsea Handler.
Ms. Handler also hosts a late-night show on cable channel E! Entertainment, which Comcast is folding into NBCU.
It seems like a huge production for two large companies such as NBC Universal and Comcast to be merging. I am curious to see how NBC will do in the coming years, especially in the prime timeline up. NBC is still a major network, regardless if it is a little behind in the ratings compared to competitors.
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