Media Gumbo: Jim Cramer staying on the Street.com and only on the Street.com, Harvey Weinstein feels stiffed by Jeff Zucker, hates his guts and more…

If the war between NBC Universal and the Weinstein Company doesn’t give a major boost to the new season of “Project Runway” we don’t know what will. In an article in Today’s New York Post, Harvey Weinstein is painted as money hungry back stabber, who is taking the show from NBC Universal’s Bravo cable network and handing it to the Lifetime simply because Lifetime is offering more money. Jeff Zucker is painted as a low baller who wants to keep the show for the current rate even though the show is making NBC Universal boat loads of money. This seems to be getting uglier and uglier and there is only one person who may come out on top smiling and that’s Lifetime Entertainment Prexy Andrea Wong. If she does end up with the show, by the time the show airs, everyone will know Lifetime is the new home of “Project Runway”. She will probably only need to use half of her marketing budget. Come on, you can’t buy this publicity! Big mouth Jim Cramer, the cofounder of popular financial website Thestreet.com and host of CNBC’s “Mad Money” has renewed his contract with Thestreet.com and will get $1.3 million in his first year. However Cramer won’t be able to write for any competing websites which we don’t know why he would even want to in the first place. Disney is going heavy on animation and already has some top level celebs on board to voice some characters. The company pulled the curtains up on its animation slate via a splashy 3 hour presentation and it looks like Bob Iger is planning to milk this thing. The slate, while not entirely a surprise to Disney followers, is certainly ambitious. Over the next five years, Disney's offerings will include a quartet of straight-to-DVD animated features starring Tinker Bell and her friends; the company's first hand-drawn musical in nearly two decades, "The Princess and the Frog"; a 3-D retelling of "Rapunzel"; and much-anticipated additional installments to the "Cars" and "Toy Story" franchises.

A rising star in the house of Zucker

“Who doesn’t want to be that person with the cute boyfriend and the hot cellphone? You want to influence people, and you want to have money. It’s like America.” - LAUREN ZALAZNICK By SDH We call her Jeff Zucker’s Female Czar. Lauren Zalaznick, the boss lady in charge at cable network Bravo and more recently Oxygen, knows her audience well because she is who she caters to. In a New York Times profile it is clear that Lauren is a rising star in Jeff Zucker’s stable of top female executives which make it more likely that after Zucker, NBC Universal nay land in the hands of one of them. Lauren Zalaznick is the brain behind Bravo hits like Project Runway,” and “Top Chef” and it is because of these hits and her eye for them, that Zucker gave her oversight of Oxygen after NBC Universal purchased the network for about $900 million and she is expected to get control of women’s web portal iVillage.com as well.

NBC Universal's heavy Hammer

By SDH Jeff Zucker may be indirectly setting off serious competitive race for his job with the recently extended duties of some of his top lieutenants. When digital head Beth Comstock was called back to the GE mother ship, Zucker opted not to replace her by splitting her duties among three execs. Now another exec is taking on more duties and no doubt more pay. Bonnie Hammer’s duties will now include control over the development of all entertainment programming for cable channels in addition to a group of smaller cable networks owned by NBC, including the Chiller and Sleuth networks, which are devoted to horror and mystery programs. This is Zucker’s way of rewarding Hammer for doing a “Fantastic Job since Day 1”. Doesn't Bonnie Hammer kinda looks like DreamWorks boss Stacie Snyder

NBC Universal splits Beth Comstock in three

BY SDH Following the announcement that NBC Universal’s President of integrated media Beth Comstock will head back to parent company GE to take on a broader marketing and digital media roll, or so it is designed to look, NBC Universal has decided to split her duties among three execs that are probably lacking even more than Comstock in the digital media arena. Salil Mehta, president, business operations, strategy and development, hover over the Digital Media team. Mike Pilot, president, sales and marketing, watch the company's research department, and Jeff Gaspin, president of the Universal Television Group, will take on interim responsibility for iVillage, the Web site, and oversight of a newly created virtual women's network. So what’s the deal with this new arrangement? Why didn’t NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker put the word out for a new digital head to come in and get the ball rolling in the right direction? Is because Zucker never saw the need for a Beth Comstock? Zucker may be making a mistake splitting these duties among three execs. With digital being the trend among traditional media companies, any and all things digital should fall under one head. This can be taken as NBC Universal not being sure about how to approach the digital door. With Jeff Gaspin only having temporary oversight of iVillage, is NBC Uni planning to break iVillage away from the pack it was a part of under Comstock? Why not just throw all of the above under Gaspin and put Mark Hoffman over cable?

Beth Comstock heads back to GE while NBC Universal still struggles to get its digital footing

BY SDH Ask many inside NBC Universal to rate Beth Comstock, currently the President of integrated media and they will probably rate her between 1 and 5. Since taking on the roll as head of NBC Universal's digital media offerings Comstock has had some duds, with the iVillage acquisition at the top of the list. Since convincing NBC Universal brass to cut a check for $600 million to take over iVillage.com, NBC Universal still has nothing significant to show for it. Many are still waiting to see how it will serve as the foundation for NBC Universal's digital strategy. Comstock seems to have only one successful project under her belt and that’s the recently launched Hulu.com a joint venture with News Corp's Fox Interactive, but it is a little premature to refer to the project as a success. Now Comstock is being called back to parent company General Electric to take on the same roll she had before going to NBC Universal but with a bigger spin. At GE she will oversee marketing and digital media. Regardless of what Comstock's doubters may think, she is in GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt’s protective custody which means she can do no wrong. Is this Immelt’s way of allowing NBC Universal’s little big man Jeff Zucker to bring in a new chief of digital who actually carry’s the digital media DNA?

Profits tank at CBS, but its not because of the WGA strike

"When I look back over the various shows I have been involved in that have been hits, it hasn't been the most expensive shows that have hit it out of the ballpark, and there's some feeling that you don't need to spend $5 million on a pilot to know whether you have a potential hit series." -LES MOONVES BY SDH The first person Les Moonves probably called to tell that profits were off at CBS is his boss and media grandpa Sumner Redstone. And we're sure he made it clear to Sumner that the drop in profits had nothing to do with the recently ended WGA strike. Les Moonves says CBS's profit dropped 15% due to the recent sales of radio and TV stations, but at the same time the company still surpassed expectations. Even though the WGA strike may have cut into ad sales, Moonves insists, CBS was strike proof and like his counterpart Jeff Zucker, sees an opportunity to approach the TV business in a more low cost less glitz way.

Jeff Zucker, Thomas Jefferson fan?

"The Writers Guild of America strike was like a great forest fire. "Fires fertilise the soil with new ash and clear the ground, often setting the stage for robust growth." - Jeff Zucker BY SDH NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker, like his fellow media execs, is happy that the long slog that was the WGA strike is now over and all energy is now trained on getting everything back to normal, or as close to it as possible. Jeff Zucker speaking last month in Las Vegas to the National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE) played up the WGA strike as a positive, saying the strike could spark robust growth. But is Zucker, naive to suggest this or is he on the money? Is Zucker suggesting that, due to the 3 month long strike, writers are over flowing with content and fresh ideas? This is probably the case, but It will cost some networks millions to promote the return of hit shows that were put on hold during the strike. Andrew Keen on New Media [The Independent]

NBC Universal's little big man Jeff Zucker who said he is done with the extravagant wooing of advertisers, still wants to woo but in private....

No more big stage topped with a jumbo screen flashing NBC Universal's brands and new show line ups. No more Jeff Zucker walking out on stage to convince advertisers to spend their money. NBC may roll to a whole new kind of upfront where Zucker and his team does one on ones with advertisers. [NYP] Some investors find blogs attractive even if the traffic isn't all that hot [NYP] Finally Disney is buying something, or at least part of something [Reuters] Hey we told you there is a lot media exec can learn from HP CEO Mark Hurd. Rupert Murdoch knows this to and has named him to the News Corp Board of Directors [NYP]

Quick Item: Jeff Zucker hires former ESPN exec to take on one of the most important parts of his job as CEO

-SDH Jeff Zucker has hired another direct report. The company announced that former executive vice president of ESPN Enterprises Salil Mehta, has been named president, business operations, strategy and development, reporting directly to the Zuck man himself. Mehta's new job is to tell Jeff Zucker what direction to turn the steering wheel in, to hopefully crash into a huge high growth opportunity.

Former peacock in Chief Bob Wright hops into private-equity game

-SDH Bob Wright who some would say was forced into retirement in favor of younger blood at NBC-Universal is about to begin his second act in private equity. Wright will join private-equity veteran Thomas H. Lee to hunt for deals in the media sector. This could very well be Bob Wright's way of getting back into the media business. He is joining Lee Equity Partners as a senior adviser. The firm is said to be eyeing small media properties in broadcasting, but of course there is speculations that they could make a move on NBC Universal if and when GE does decide to look for buyers. If such speculations become reality, it could go down in history as one of the biggest comebacks because Lee Equity Partners would no doubt boot Jeff Zucker faster than he got to the top and re-install Wright at the helm. Oh man the possibilities but all the above is a bit of wishful thinking. NBC Universal if sold could fetch close to $40 billion. This sum may be a bit heavy for Lee Equity Partners.

When the strike is over and the recession comes and passes or it never comes at all, will NBC get back into pilots?

-SDH Jeff Zucker in response to the current writer strike is tightening NBC Universal's belt by killing pilot production which he said will save the company some $50 million annually. Pilots can reportedly cost around $7 million to produce, some of which never see the light of day. Zucker made the announcement while running around overseas in an effort to strengthen the company's international arm. The decision to eliminate most pilots was made as the company looked for ways to cut costs in response to the Hollywood writers’ strike and the slowdown in the economy, Mr. Zucker said. “It’s clear we are in a recession in the United States, and we’re going to have to manage our business accordingly,” he said. To Cut Costs, NBC Universal Ends Pilots [NYT]

Will Jeff Zucker's dog and pony show go on?

BY SDH Clearly Hollywood writers carry a huge stick in the business so you would think media and entertainment execs would have reached an agreement with them by now, but nope! The strike killed the Golden Globes, they killed the talk shows for a while, they will hamper the Oscars and now they are about to kill NBC Universal boss Jeff Zucker's upfront presentation where he announces all the new shows NBC has in the pipelines "When people say the upfront, there are two things: One is the dog-and-pony show at Radio City and the second is the way we sell the inventory," Zucker told Reuters in an interview. The way that we sell the inventory in an upfront selling period is not going to change. Whether we still need to do the dog-and-pony show is completely under review here and you can look for an announcement on that from us very soon." NBC's Zucker looks at canceling annual ad bonanza [Reuters]

ABC on CNN: Politics brings CNN and ABC News together

Either CNN Prexy Jon Klein had nothing for the 7-8pm time slot tonight, or he loved the New Hampshire debates that ABC News broadcasted so much he had to air it on his network. Dian Sawyer was even on CNN which was kinda weird. In an interview CNN's Jon Klein said that he believes the lines between media giants are slowly being erased and CNN airing ABC's content is just another step forward in the no barriers direction. Now we can start speculating about some kind of deal in the works and this is just a public test run, but we won't. Jon Klein spoke about how the whole thing came about saying, he called his good buddy David Westin, who is President of ABC News who was getting on a plane to head to New Hampshire and asked if he could re-air the New Hampshire debates and it was a go. Is this really where big media is headed? Will we see Jeff Bewkes calling Sumner Redstone asking if he can air Nickelodeon content on the Cartoon Network? Or Rupert Murdoch calling Jeff Zucker at NBC asking if he could air Mad Money on Fox Business Network? Ok so that’s a stretch. But is no barrier, media industry workable where media companies trade content? Sure media companies buy syndication licenses to air shows of other networks that are no longer on the air but that’s the norm. What was the agreement on the back end of CNN airing ABC's New Hampshire debates? Is ABC News getting a cut from Ad revenue or was it just an agreement between two friends, CNN's John Klein and ABC News's David Westin. -SDH

Is Jeff Immelt a closeted media mogul?

-YOSH There is no secret that GE Chief Executive Jeff Immelt is a hands-on kinda guy when it comes to business. He is even more hands-on when it comes to his media division, NBC Universal. He talks up the business whenever he gets the chance and even hints at what’s to come for the media company. In a way he does what NBC Universal boss Jeff Zucker should be doing. We kinda get the impression that he is constantly behind Zucker breathing down his neck. Is this the behavior of a closeted media mogul? It would look good for Zucker if every time Immelt does an interview and questions regarding NBC Uni comes up he says "You will have to ask Jeff about that". But that’s not the case. The man speaks as if he is running NBC Universal, and for all we know he really is, via Jeff Zucker. We think Jeff Immelt is smitten with the media business and has a secret fantasy of someday running a media company. During the Jack Welch era at GE, Welch wasn't known to mingle in NBC workings, at least not that we know of. He left that up to then NBC ruler Bob Wright. Maybe Wright's retirement was hastened due to the fact that Immelt realized he couldn't control him. Who knows? Perhaps one day Jeff Immelt will come out of the closet.

Warner-Universal: Can you dig it?

Let’s say TimeWarner decides to sell off all of AOL, according to estimates a successful sale of the online giant, could fetch in the neighborhood of $18 billion. What would TimeWarner do with this chunk of cash? Well there have been suggestions that CEO Jeff Bewkes should kick the tires on NBC Universal if and when General Electric decides to sell it after the 2008 Olympics, possibly creating a new media giant called Warner-Universal. But how would a Warner-Universal look? Well for starters a merger would result in a major sell off of redundant units, not to mention a massive layoff. NBC Universal is home to MSNBC which competes with TimeWarner's CNN. Would the two be merged, or would MSNBC be put on the block in favor of CNN. How about the movie studios? Would a Warner-Universal hold on to two major movie studios by merging them to create Warner-Universal Studios, or would one be sold off? More importantly, how would senior management look? Clearly TimeWarner being the buyer would have Jeff Bewkes at the helm, but would NBC Universal’s little big man Jeff Zucker be out of a job, or would Bewkes name him his number two? We think Zucker would be toast. But that’s just us. Today's poll: WARNER-UNIVERSAL: CAN YOU DIG IT? YES MAYBE NO WAY NOT SURE

Jeff Bewkes looks to the founding fathers for answers

-RAY In 6 days yet a new era will begin at Time Warner with the Bewkes Administration taking office. Many have high hopes for the company under the leadership of Bewkes, but he still seems to looking for answers regarding the future of the world's biggest media company. When searching for answers, who better to look to for answers than the founding fathers. Before the top 200 executives at a ballroom in Miami’s Mandarin Oriental hotel, Mr. Bewkes invoked the legacies of Henry R. Luce and Ted Turner in ticking off the accomplishments of the assembly’s predecessors: inventing the newsmagazine (Time), and spearheading cable news (CNN) and pay television (HBO), according to three executives in attendance who spoke on condition of anonymity because it was a private meeting. What Would Henry Luce Do? Looking Forward at Time Warner [NYT]

On Jeffrey Immelt's orders, Jeff Zucker will fuck up the Holidays for many

-YOSH There goes the Holiday's for some at NBC Universal. CEO Jeff Zucker, on orders from his rulers at General Electric will trim the fat where needed so that NBC Uni will look better on paper, or perhaps they need the cash to pump into Hulu.com. This is Zucker's second bloodbath since taking over as CEO. The people who remain should prepare for their work loads to double because it looks like Zucker won't be filling the spots in the future. Maybe there was another way around all this though. Like perhaps employees would have been cool with paying 100% for their health coverage or something? Sources inside or close to NBC yesterday claimed the cuts, which are expected to come down this week or next, will be weighted evenly between NBC News and MSNBC. CNBC staffers are being shielded from this round of cuts because Zucker wants the network to be at full strength now that the battle with Fox Business Network has begun. (FBN is owned by News Corp., which also owns The Post.) Guess those lucky bastards at CNBC should thank Rupert Murdoch for saving their jobs. PEACOCK PURGE [NYP]

HULU getting some love so far

It looks like NBC Universal and News Corp's little web venture Hulu.com is a hit right out the gate. Or so says NBC Uni CEO Jeff Zucker. But shouldn't HULU CEO Jason Kilar be the one being all giddy in the press? Anyway, we have to say we were some of the lucky few who got a username and password to test the thing out and we hate to say this but we were impressed as well. Speaking at the UBS 35th Annual Global Media and Communications conference on Monday, Zucker said online critics who had initially mocked Hulu as "Clown Co." had been forced to eat crow after being impressed with the site's user-friendliness and picture quality following its beta launch in October. "Advertisers tell us they're looking for a place to have commercials run in a safe environment," said Zucker. Consumers just want ease, and that's what Hulu really offers." NBCU's Web Video Portal 'Hulu' Impresses Critics [Media Post]

Jeff Zucker pretends as though he isn't already kicking the tires on Dreamworks SKG, While Phil Dauman acts as if all is well

-MARTY Media execs are some of the biggest diplomats in the world. They could be closing a deal right under your nose, and you wouldn't know based how they talk the subject down. NBC Universal head Jeff Zucker is the latest media biggie talking down a hot topic. David Geffen, a partner in all things Dreamworks made it clear that NBC Universal is one of only two companies he would do a deal with. In a report in the New York Times we got the impression that the only thing stopping a deal from happening is the annual $600 Million bankroll the DreamWorks partners were seeking if they were to do a deal with NBC Universal. But now in front of a bunch of media rollers and investors, Jeff Zucker is playing the "If" game. Guess he was trying to play it cool with Phil Dauman from Viacom on hand. Speaking of Viacom CEO Phil Dauman, he is playing Mr. Nice regarding the public beef between DreamWorks and Viacom. "Our objective is to proceed with mutual respect," Dauman said. "We're going to proceed with calm and deliberateness." Zucker: Would Take a Look at DreamWorks [AP]

As it turns out News Corp's Peter Chernin may have set the blue print on how media CEOs may handle the strike going forward

-MARTY Unlike the heads of their film divisions, media CEOs are more low key when it comes to the current writer's strike, negotiating under the radar to help get things back to business. CEOs like Bob Iger of Disney,Jeff Zucker of NBC Universal and Les "Love Boat" Moonves of CBS are all said to be three of few media biggies in on negotiations. It makes sense that those three would roll up their sleeves and dive in because a chunk of their business is Television and/or Film. However there are always the bad apples, and in this case its Rupert Murdoch's evil number two who claims to be a Democrat but is a closeted Republican Peter "Petie boy" Chernin. Petie Boy seems to be playing the "Dick Size" game as usual. In the early days of the strike Chernin actually hi-lited how the strike would save News Corp Money adding to the already outrageous comment made by Michael Eisner. But the fucked up part about all this is that he may get a few of his fellow media execs on his side of the line. What strike? Silence golden for moguls [THR]

Jeff Zucker and company sneaking ads into your favorite NBC shows

-MARTY Jeff Zucker and company is going all out for their advertisers ensuring they get their paid for air time. In the November 15 episode of NBC's "30 Rock," Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey, in their roles as Jack Donaghy and Liz Lemon, sang the praises of Verizon Wireless before Fey looked right into the camera and asked, "Can we have our money now?" Creative we think as long as every other line or even a whole show isn't pushing a product or service. Can you imagine a whole episode of "The Office" about the staff ordering supplies from Staples, or ordering new computers from Dell. It could work but it would have to be cleverly written. The scene in question featured Jack saying, "These Verizon Wireless phones are just so popular. I accidentally grabbed one belonging to an acquaintance." Liz responded, "Well, sure that Verizon Wireless service is just unbeatable. If I saw a phone like that on TV, I would be like, 'Where is my nearest retailer so I can get one?"' She then broke the fourth wall and addressed the camera with the plea for cash. "30 Rock" rolls ads into story lines [Reuters]

Jeff Zucker buy's new multimillion dollar digs, probably haunted by the ghost of Kitty

-YOSH NBC Universal's little big man, Jeff Zucker is said to have dropped 12 big ones ($12.3 million) on a new pad for him his wife and kids. The new digs once belonged to actress Kitty Carlisle Hart and comes with the usual features the Zucker's are no doubt used to like a maid's quarters, almost a half dozen fireplaces and numerous bathrooms to drop a deuce. The pad may also come with a bonus feature as well that the Zucker's themselves may not even know about... yet!! A deed filed in city records today shows that he and his wife Caryn closed earlier this month on the late Kitty Carlisle Hart's 11-room apartment at East 64th Street, which they'd been rumored to buy. Jeff Zucker Pays $12.3 M. for Kitty Carlisle Hart's Co-Op [TRE]

Will NBC Universal let DreamWorks get away from them again over money? GE's pockets are too deep to allow this to happen

-SDH Jeff Zucker, if he is smart, has another shot at adding some major wattage at Universal Studios. DreamWorks which has been unhappy with its deal at the Viacom owned Paramount mainly due to oldman Sumner's vicious mouth, wants out of that marriage and will only do a deal with News Corp's 20th Century Fox or NBC Universal's Universal Studios ,but there is a catch. The DreamWorks team is seeking $600 million to $700 million a year which insiders say may hold up any deal from happening. Jeff Zucker needs to let his boss, GE CEO Jeff Immelt know that he cannot let this deal get away from them a second time. Because Rupert Murdoch is known for swooping in and offering more than what a seller is asking leading to a win, just ask Tom Freston. Jeff Zucker needs to Tell Immelt to back off and cut the check so he can secure DreamWorks and its legendary founders. “These DreamWorks guys are the A-Rods of the movie business,” said Harold L. Vogel, an independent media analyst. “They have megawatt personalities and great track records, but almost nobody can afford to pay them.” Discontented, DreamWorks Is in Talks to Join NBC [NYT]

and now this morning's worthy media news mentions

-By YOSH Jeff Zucker to Las Vegas: The little big man at NBC Universal will yap it up at NATPE 2008. Overall, NATPE 2008 will focus on the convergence of programming, advertising and emerging media, with a theme of “Where Now Meets Next.” Why not throw in some dancing and singing postman while you're at it? The Royal Mail, the British postal service, which has been hit hard by the effects of the Internet, is trying to stimulate business by appealing to the senses. A new initiative, aimed at marketers who use the mail to reach potential consumers, encourages them to incorporate a scent, taste or sound in their snail mailings. You mean all those reports weren't their's? CNN Worldwide plans to increase its staff of correspondents by 10 percent as part of a major effort to increase its ability to produce its own reports. Fox News likes Giuliani for one reason and one reason only. He will go into Iran if he wins According to Regan's suit, "This smear campaign was necessary to advance News Corp.'s political agenda, which has long centered on protecting Rudy Giuliani's presidential ambitions." Does CBS have the smartest internet strategy? At the NewTeeVee conference, CBS Interactive president Quincy Smith demonstrated why he and CBS deserve to be viewed as having the smartest Internet strategy of the major TV networks.

Jeff Immelt urged to take action regarding potential threat from Fox Business Network

-By MARTY You know there must be a serious threat against CNBC by Fox Business News when an open letter that should have been addressed to Jeff Zucker goes over his head and is addressed to his boss at GE Jeff Immelt. In the open letter Immelt is reminded of the things he is that former GE boss Jack Welch wasn't and is reminded that if he doesn't act now it may haunt him. Though there are no available reports on how Rupert Murdoch's new channel is doing, people continue to refer to the ass whipping his Fox News has given CNN over the years predicting that it will happen again with Fox Business News kicking CNBC's ass. Should Jeff Immelt take this open letter seriously and order his media chief Jeff Zucker and his troops into battle? We kinda think so. Because as the saying goes, never bet against Rupert Murdoch. Rescue Memo to Jeff Immelt [Portfilio.com via Yahoo]

FRESH NEWS: No wonder Jeff Zucker isn’t worried about Fox Business News

Jeff Zucker has expressed his lack of concern about Fox Business news gaining on CNBC basically calling Rupert Murdoch's business network a joke. Fresh in our inbox comes a press release about a new animated news segment that will air on FBN’s Happy Hour called "Hoofy and Boo’s News and Views". Is Fox Business News really about entertaining Wall/Main Streeters, unlike CNBC's dead serious business news and information? We don't know. The guys over at FBN seem to be really psyched about this new addition to their line up though. MINYANVILLE’S HOOFY & BOO MAKE TELEVISION DEBUT ON FOX BUSINESS NETWORK New York – Minyanville Publishing and Multimedia (http://www.minyanville.com)/ and Fox Business Network (FBN) today announced that Hoofy and Boo’s News and Views, TV’s first-ever regularly scheduled animated news segment will air each Friday on FBN’s Happy Hour, which is presented daily from 5-6PM (EST). It will also air on the network throughout the week and online at both www.minyanville.com and http://www.foxbusiness.com/. Hoofy and Boo already have a loyal following on Minyanville.com. Representing Wall Street’s iconic Bull and Bear, the animated “Critters” provide an off-beat and humorous look at what’s going on in the world of business. Created by Founder and CEO of Minyanville Publishing and Multimedia Todd Harrison to represent the dynamic trends in the financial marketplace, the comic characters have become synonymous with market activity and entertainment. They will continue to be created and produced by Minyanville’s own team of writers and producers. In making the announcement, Harrison said, “With Hoofy and Boo appearing on Fox Business Network, we are truly bringing Main Street and Wall Street closer together. We are partnering with a leading broadcast entity to deliver entertaining and engaging content across a new medium: an animated news show.” Brian Jones, FBN’s Senior Vice President of Operations added, “Hoofy and Boo’s News and Views are a refreshing addition to our line-up and are in line with Happy Hour's overall aim to bring Main Street to The Street.”Minyanville President Kevin Wassong added, “Hoofy and Boo are quickly becoming the icons of finance. Their voice and perspective on main stream financial issues and topics has been well received on Minyanville.com and we expect them to be just as popular with viewers of Fox Business Network.”

When the Zuck attacks

NBC Universal's little big man, Jeff Zucker has been stepping up his attacks on News Corp's newbie business network saying that the network has had no impact whatsoever. Yeah both NBC Uni and News Corp may be in bed together with their Internet venture Hulu.com but that isn't stopping either side from firing shots at one another. The battle between NBC and Fox ratcheted up Monday when NBC chief Jeff Zucker waved aside Fox Business Network's chances of competing with CNBC, and Fox responded by firing back at Zucker. "We seem to be doing two different things," Zucker told reporters at a breakfast Q&A with the New Yorker's media writer, Ken Auletta. "CNBC is a serious financial news network. From what we've seen from Fox, it's not as investor focused, not as financially focused." Zucker dismissed the financial implications of FBN for NBC. "From a business standpoint it's had no impact," Zucker said of the new News Corp. channel. The Hollywood Reporter could have come up with a better headline though instead of recycling one that has been used by many. Fox Business Network gets Zucker-punched [THR]

Jeff Zucker: GE should only sell us if we don't perform, and so far we're performing

NBC Universal boss Jeff Zucker is made it clear that NBC Universal is not for sale. Sure as if he would know whether or not the GE Board secretly has a price tag on the company. Talkers have been talking about GE possibly selling off the media unit after the Olympics but Zucker has been on his "We're not for sale" tour trying hard to put to rest the rumors. Speaking at an event in New York, Zucker said GE Chief Executive Jeff Immelt had been "very clear" about NBC Universal's role within the company. "He has said numerous times that NBCU is not for sale," Zucker said. "It is not for sale after the Olympics." NBC Universal's Zucker dismisses sale rumors [Reuters]

Morning Wire: And now this morning's worthy media news

NBC, not wanting to send traffic anyone else's way, quietly killed it's year old Youtube channel as they do finally prepping for the launch of Hulu.com their online video venture with news Corp. [NYP] The New York times recognized a little jump in profits during their third quarter report.[NYT] So if no one really knows for sure how many hits their websites are getting, aren't advertisers being naive? [NYT] Rupert Murdoch has become quite the celebrity [News] Is Fox Business taking away some eyes from CNBC, or are business news fiends going through what we call "The New New Syndrome"? Jeff Zucker we're sure is hoping its the latter [MN]

Mr. Peacock: Jeff Zucker is focused on building, not speculations, though some of them may be true, we think

NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker is 8 months into the gig and he is fearless. He isn't worried about Rupert Murdoch's over hyped business network and he isn't worried about GE selling off his division. We guess this is the attitude one develops when they've beaten something like cancer. Zucker is hell bent on pushing NBCU to its limits, digitizing its content and reaping the rewards for his masters at GE