And now this morning's worth mentioning media business news

Crain's continues to spread the love this time overseas with the launch of Crain's Manchester Business [Greenslade] Pakistani Journalists are free to report again, just as long as they don't say bad things about the government [Greenslade] We did mention that former newspaper barron Conrad Black is off to prison right? [NYT] Things are kinda fucked up at NBC. So fucked up that they are paying back advertisers some money [NYP]

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]

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]

Hulu Lu Ya: NBC & Newscorp set Halloween eve, eve date for launch of new web video venture

NBC and News Corp will greet Halloween this year with the launch of their surprisingly under hyped online video venture Hulu.com two days before. Both companies are hoping to squeeze online video giant Youtube by attracting users to Hulu.com for all News Corp and NBC programming. Was this venture under hyped due to lingering doubts among NBC and News Corp brass? Or are they playing the under promise and over deliver card? Techcrunch.com got the scoop: Launching a video Website can be hard—even if it is just a private beta. Now, says our source, Hulu is gunning for a private beta launch next Monday, so that it can still meet CEO Jason Kilar’s self-imposed October deadline. That date could slip until the following Wednesday and technically be considered on-time, of course, but Kilar probably wants to avoid the trick-or-treat jokes. We’re still waiting for our invites. Hulu Set to Launch on Monday [Techcrunch]

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]

Will NBC Universal and News Corp's HULU.com be another flash in the pan like NBC's NBBC.com?

NBC Universal and News Corp are probably putting the final touches on their soon to be launched online video joint venture, Hulu.com. Both companies are the latest big media players attempting to keep audiences from running to Youtube to see their programming by creating a video destination of their own. Viacom made every single episode of "The Daily Show" available online at the newly launched Thedailyshow.com. But back to Hulu. This won't be NBC's first run at an online video venture. A year ago with much fanfare NBC launched a mediocre site called NBBC.com. The site has since vanished into thin air. The venture was a flop right out of the gate due to it overly corporate look and discription (see image below). Online video ventures need to have a welcoming image sans the corporate lingo. Audiences and most advertisers could care less about that. It was an attempt to interact with NBC's audience but it turned out that NBC's audience didn't want to interact with them, and around that time there was a little site called Youtube smoking up the place. So will News Corp's involvement make a difference this time around? We think so. With News Corp's Myspace, if the right people are in charge of this new venture, it can make some noise. But it won't be an issue for the folks at Youtube, because at Youtube, the audience runs the show. EARLIER: Fresh Off The Wires: NBC Launches "NBBC"

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. He is excited about this month's launch of NBCU's and Newscorp's online venture HULU.com and shares lessons learned from the failure of NBC's earlier digital effort NBCi during a sit down with USA Today. Q: Does CNBC's new rival, Fox Business Network, affect your forecast? A: There've been many competitors in this space — the Financial News Network, CNNfn, Bloomberg — all of whom were bigger than this competitor. The only thing that's different is the amount of media attention that's involved because it's Rupert Murdoch and News Corp. Zucker works on rebuilding NBC [USAT]

GE will continue to pimp NBC until a time of their choosing

It turns out NBC Universal boss Jeff Zucker has a bigger Peacock than expected and his pimps at GE couldn't be more pleased. NBC Universal's third quarter results are healthy, kinda putting to rest talk of GE selling off the media unit, for now. GE will continue to push hard for higher and higher quarterly results perhaps to sell the company off at a higher price and cash out big time. Chatter has increased about GE waiting until after the 2008 Olympics to decide whether or not they will unload Zucker and company. Media giant TimeWarner has been mentioned a few times as a possible buyer if GE does decide to get out of the entertainment business. We won't even get into that right now but we hope TimeWarner will continue to focus on increasing their share price instead of trying to digest another major merger/acquisition. For now though, GE is pleased with NBCU’s results, even if ratings are still in the toilet. Hey how long has that kid who Zucker hired to beef up ratings been on the job? Is it too soon to get on him? NBC SCORES RESULTS THAT MAKE GE POSSESSIVE [NYP]

The rise of NBC's pot smoking wonder kid, Ben Silverman

Ben Silverman is probably Hollywood's most powerful young exec as Co-Chair of NBC Entertainment. He slid into the job with much press and no doubt more vagina than any man could handle. He hints that he still smokes pot with his buddies and has already gotten down to the business of making NBC Universal boss Jeff Zucker and his boss GE CEO Jeff Immelt happy by green lighting new programs that may or may not dig NBC out of the dark hole it has been in for some time now. W Magazine's Gabriel Snyder observed Silverman and wrote all about it in their latest issue and by the sound of things, Ben Silverman just may be able to balance his partying ways and his new high power gig. When a network head sits for his corporate portrait, it’s normally a tedious exercise: a balding guy in a drab suit and serious tie posing awkwardly for 10 minutes before he’s got to be somewhere—anywhere—else. But Ben Silverman is not your typical television executive. Five days into his new job as cochair of NBC Entertainment, the 37-year-old agent-turned-producer-turned-broadcast boss is not ashamed to be standing in his drawers (washboard abs proudly displayed) on the set of his NBC photo shoot. Following the photographer’s directives—“Lean forward! That’s cool!”—Silverman, after changing into a charcoal suit sans tie, ends up contorted into a coy little ball, his chin resting on his knees. Suddenly a cell phone begins to bleat, its ring tone a refrain from one-hit rapper Mims: “This is why I’m hot. This is why I’m hot.” The crew members eye each other nervously—Who forgot to silence his phone?—until Silverman languidly slips out of his kitten pose and answers his mobile. CONTINUE... Roll your eyes if you must, but this is what Holly-wood success looks like today. Ratings are what players like Silverman get paid for—not gravitas or modesty. Even so, when NBC tapped Silverman to be its cochairman (he shares the title with Marc Graboff, a buttoned-down veteran of the network’s business operations), many in the TV business were surprised to see an open-collared, Jaguar XKR–driving, party-hopping producer ascend to one of the industry’s most powerful posts. Silverman, however, is quite confident that he’s up to the task. “I think I am the audience, you know what I mean? I viscerally respond. I am conceptual and a dealmaker,” he says, sitting in his new office at NBC. (The place is undecorated but overflowing with congratulatory gifts that include a T-shirt declaring I’M A GENIUS!) “Those are things that usually don’t all come in the same package. I am the perfect storm for making a television executive.” Some would argue that it will take a perfect storm to land NBC back on top. The network, after all, is in a serious funk, having finished last in prime-time ratings for the third year in a row. But if nothing else, the appointment has people talking about the peacock again—well, at least gossiping. During the three-week interim between the announcement of Silverman’s hiring and his first day on the job, a story began circulating that the delay was due to GE’s corporate drug-testing policy. The party boy, it was said, needed time to get the marijuana out of his system. Silverman denies the rumor, but only to a point. “No, no, no. I did not quit smoking pot to take this job,” he says. “I’m still single, and I go out with my friends, but it was a nonissue for me. I think it blew out of proportion because I have nice Lucien [Pellat-Finet] sweaters with pot-leaf embroidery and I have some hemp sneakers. The day my deal was done, I said, ‘I want to get this freakin’ piss test out of the way.’ All these people are, like, accusing me of s---.” Silverman grew up in Manhattan with his mom, Mary, a television executive with the BBC, and his dad, Stanley, a composer. He set his sights on the industry in junior high after reading a profile of Brandon Tartikoff, NBC’s legendary head programmer in the 1980s, in New York magazine. While majoring in history at Tufts, Silverman spent three summers interning for Warner Bros. and, upon graduation, photocopied his mom’s Rolodex and headed for Los Angeles. He crashed at a friend’s place while looking for work and, because the AC was busted in his car, took to driving to job interviews in his underwear and getting dressed in parking lots. Barbara Corday, a former CBS executive who was starting her own TV production company, eventually hired him to be her assistant. “He was extremely young and enthusiastic and very charming,” she says. “All the things you read about him now, he was then, only more like a puppy. And who can resist a puppy?” His very first day on the job she decided Silverman was “too good” to be her assistant. So she gave him the title of manager of development. Later that day, she decided director of development had a better ring. “I was 22,” says Silverman, giving one of his signature smiles, with his eyes open wide and his bushy eyebrows arched high, “and I was basically promoted three times over the course of a day.” When Corday was hired as president of New World Television in 1993, she took her protégé with her, and when she was pushed out a year later to make way for the aforementioned Tartikoff, Silverman stayed on, becoming what he describes as his onetime idol’s “go-to guy.” In 1995 he jumped to the William Morris Agency, setting up shop in the London office and making his first big splash by putting together deals to adapt European shows like Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Survivor and The Weakest Link for the American market. “I basically established a monopoly,” he says. “If it had an accent, I was involved in selling it.” Having built a reputation as one of reality TV’s driving forces, he set up his own production company, Reveille, in 2002, which scored hits like The Biggest Loser. He also used his importing skills to translate The Office (originally a UK smash) and Ugly Betty (based on a Colombian soap opera) for Stateside audiences. Altogether, Silverman-produced shows (the latter two and The Tudors) received 24 Emmy nominations this year. Word of Silverman’s move to NBC first hit Hollywood on the Friday before Memorial Day in a manner that is emblematic of the new media forces that have the networks scrambling. Just before 10 a.m., an e-mail from someone calling himself “theanontipster” arrived on the BlackBerries of reporters, bloggers and industry insiders. It read simply, “Ben Silverman has been offered the job replacing Kevin Reilly.” It was the first that Reilly, who was on the distribution list, had heard of his ouster. The news flash turned out to be a tad premature. NBC Universal chief executive Jeff Zucker and Silverman had been in talks for a week and a half but had yet to hammer out an agreement. Silverman admits the mysterious e-mail “accelerated our negotiations,” but he says he had nothing to do with the leak. “Oh, God no,” he says. “It ruined my weekend.” He was spending the holiday at the Montage, a resort in Laguna Beach that was crowded with Hollywood types. “People were all over me, shooting me e-mails, circling me. I literally had to go in my room and pace on the phone the entire time.” The e-mail leak, Silverman gripes, foiled his publicity plan. “I wanted it to be the cover of The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal,” he says with characteristic immodesty. And, he adds, he would have liked to be the one to break the news to Reilly. “I love Kevin and wanted to, at the right moment, tell him about it firsthand.” Despite such statements of goodwill—and despite the fact that Reilly soon landed at Fox to take over its top-rated prime-time schedule—the whole affair has left a bad taste in the mouths of Reilly loyalists. One of the most outspoken has been ABC entertainment head Steve McPherson, a college buddy of Reilly’s, who blasted Silverman at an ABC press conference in July for pretending he had nothing to do with Reilly’s dismissal. “Was he living in a cave?” he said. “When someone stabs your best friend in the back, you don’t buy it.” Silverman, of course, doesn’t need the admiration of the competition to succeed in his new role. It might help, however, if he and his boss agreed on a definition of success. Says Zucker, “The goal for Ben is to move NBC Entertainment forward in terms of its viewership and in terms of the number of successful programs he can bring to air.” Silverman, however, puts his own spin on it—with less of an emphasis on ratings: “What we are in is the business of television, not the rankings of television. It’s going to be hard for broadcast television to sustain its ratings when there are 500 networks and a million competing entertainment options.” Either way, Silverman has been busy during his first few months looking for ways to kick-start the turnaround, whether by announcing that Jerry Seinfeld would return to prime time as a guest star on 30 Rock or adding former Grey’s Anatomy star Isaiah Washington to the cast of Bionic Woman. Silverman is also importing another Colombian hit telenovela, whose title translates to Without Breasts There Is No Paradise, about a flat-chested girl who becomes a prostitute to pay for a boob job. On the reality side, he’s greenlighted a seventh edition of Donald Trump’s The Apprentice, given the Joey Fatone–hosted The Singing Bee a slot on the fall schedule and announced Phenomenon, a version of the Israeli show hosted by spoon-bending mentalist Uri Geller. “I like quality with noise,” Silverman says. “Big, big, bold hits, you know, but that also have elements of profound engagement.” Whether they fail or flourish, network entertainment heads tend to have short tenures—Reilly held the job for three years before getting fired; before him, Zucker did the job for four years before being promoted up the corporate ladder—and Silverman isn’t planning to spend the rest of his life at NBC. A donor to such Democratic candidates as Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, he says he wants to eventually “devote myself to public service. “I may run for office,” he tosses off with trademark confidence, “but I also think America needs a chief marketing officer.” —GABRIEL SNYDER

No sleaze please: NBC drops Paris Hilton gabfest like its hot

NBC has put the kibosh on a rumored $1 million interview with jail bird Paris Hilton. Now, we have no idea why any respectable network would shell out that much to hear about Paris Hilton's little stay in prison, oh wait, its called ratings!!! Anyway it looks like NBC Uni head Jeff Zucker sent the order down the line to pull the plug on the Hilton interview to avoid skanking up his network. Don't worry Paris, that's what MTV is for. The celebrity skank went from being a $1 million "get" to the biggest reject in the sordid history of checkbook journalism yesterday, when all the major TV networks refused her first interview after jail - even after she offered herself up for nothing THANKS BUT NO SKANKS TV BIGS [NYP]

Kevin Reilly almost out the door at NBC: Unidentified NBC execs

We never saw this one coming based on the fact that his contract was recently renewed to continue as President of NBC Entertainment. Then again shame on us for thinking a contract means shit in the media/entertainment business. According to some unloyal NBC execs, NBC Universal is reportedly in negotiations to kick Kevin Reilly to the curb and replace him with producer Ben Silverman, who will probably meet the same fate some years down the line. Is this a "We like you Kevin but we Like Ben better" situation? Is Kevin Reilly no longer hitting Jeff Zucker's spot? At the end of the day, all this is to please the sharks at GE and why shouldn't it be? If they're not pleased then that’s Jeff Zucker's ass. Hey Kev call up Les and see what he has open over at CBS. Several executives who have been informed of the discussions said that NBC Universal had started some complex negotiations with Mr. Silverman to take a leadership role in its entertainment operations, including devising new approaches to unite its broadcast, cable and Internet programming divisions. NBC Said to Be in Talks to Remove Program Chief [NYT]

Jeff Zucker scapegoat reportedly out

-Shomari Hines Now that he is the Peacock in Chief at NBC Universal, Jeff Zucker and his Zucker 3 are now pushing off his short comings on individuals way down the food chain, or so some would say. People haven't been watching “Nightly News With Brian Williams,” perhaps because they find him boring and not as easy on the eyes like an Anderson Cooper. Never the less, executive producer John Reiss will get the axe, which will then be followed by an announcement of his replacement. image uploaded by Steve Rhodes via Flickr One NBC executive who did speak for the record yesterday, Steve Capus, the president of NBC News, would not confirm that any decision had been made about replacing Mr. Reiss. But he dismissed any conclusions being drawn from the recent ratings, saying that NBC had experienced surges by ABC during previous special ratings periods, known as sweep months. He all but guaranteed that NBC’s anchor, Mr. Williams, would regain supremacy in the ratings in a matter of weeks. NBC May Oust Evening News Executive [NYT]

Businessweek asks the usual says the usual

With all the coverage Jeff Zucker's pending appointment as NBC Universal CEO is getting, wouldn't it be a total shock if the job some how fell in the hands of former someone else? OK OK no haps. following in the foot steps of everybody and their mother this morning, Businessweek asks the usual and says the usual on challenges Zucker faces when he takes over and takes us through the now popular story of how he came to be Jeff Immelt's little puppet. But we have to admit our obsession with the Zuck today. Almost all our posts have been about, or included the Zuck. But we won't promise we will de-Zuckerize anytime soon, so deal with it. Can a man who mastered the vagaries of the morning talk show and presided over the company's television group during one of NBC's worst prime-time performances in a generation move the media business back to double-digit earnings? At the very least, it will be a challenge. He will take over at a time when NBCU has lost high-profile talent and is still struggling to make a comeback in prime time. Jeff Zucker Takes Charge at NBC Universal [BW]

NBC's Kevin Reilly aint sorry no more

Jeff Zucker knows first hand where his President of entertainment Kevin Reilly is coming from. Reilly has had to deal with FOX's American Idol behemoth but he isn't worried about it. After all things are looking up at NBC or something like that. For the first 16 weeks of the season, NBC actually tied for first place with CBS and ABC among 18- to 49-year-olds. (Last week -- week 17 -- saw CBS pull ahead just slightly.) NBC, partly thanks to "Sunday Night Football," is pointed in the right direction. "Heroes," the top new show this season among 18- to 49-year-olds, is returning to the schedule for the next half of its run (though it's going head-to-head with "24" on Fox). Thursdays haven't collapsed despite competition from ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" and a still strong "CSI" on CBS. The network is building a new block titled "Comedy Night Done Right" to replace "Must See TV," and is hanging on to "30 Rock" in the hope it will grow the same way "The Office" did. Hey Kev for what its worth, we don't think you have a chance in hell of topping FOX's Monday night line up of "24" and "Prison Break" but please do take a crack at it. Finally Living the Life Of Reilly [Ad Age]

Zucker and Friends, Ion out a deal

NBC and some other people with money are looking to swallow the rest of Ion Media Networks that it doesn't already own. Hedge fund Citadel Investment Group, which, like NBC is a major investor in the company now called Ion Media Networks, is offering to buy out its common shareholders for $1.41 a share in cash.Ion's stock price shot up more than 64 percent, or 40 cents, to $1.02 a share yesterday on the American Stock Exchange after the proposed deal was disclosed in a regulatory filing. "I think investors are starting to see that traditional media has been underestimated," Ion chief Burgess told The Post. "I think we're going to see a renaissance in the next three to five years." Yeah, but it will be because of new media. NBC AND CITADEL LINK UP IN ION BID [NYP]

Neal Shapiro to step into the dark hole of public television

Former NBC news Chief Neal Shapiro is headed to one of the dinosaurs of the broadcasting industry WNET, Channel 13. We have no idea what if at all Mr. Shapiro will do to fluff up the network but this would be considered a step backwards by many in the media industry. At least when Mel Karmazin took his step backwards he landed somewhere cool. The decision to choose a candidate from commercial television — and one with experience in programming, not fund-raising — reflects the reality of the intense, fast-changing competition that public broadcasting faces. “At the end of the day, it’s programming that really maintains our viewership and our membership,” said James S. Tisch, the president and chief executive of Loews Corporation, and the chairman of the board of trustees of Educational Broadcasting, which also includes WLIW, Channel 21. Changes in Top Leadership Are Expected at Channel 13 [NYT]

ABC.com leads the pack online

With full streams of its popular TV shows available on its website, Disney's ABC.com is ahead of the webisode game generating more traffic to its website than any other network. However NBC isn't too far behind indicating to us that NBC Universal's digital chief, Beth Comstock is doing her job. The ABC and NBC Web sites are consistently drawing much larger overall traffic than CBS and Fox sites. Both ABC.com and NBC.com are averaging 9.5 million unique visitors a month for October through December, while CBS.com is averaging 5.2 million unique users and Fox is at 2.8 million, according to Nielsen//NetRatings. Regarding Internet streams of prime-time episodes, ABC.com led by large margins over the other network sites. In October, ABC.com streams of hits "Grey's Anatomy" and "Desperate Housewives" drew 3.1 million unique users, according to Nielsen//NetRatings. That dropped slightly to 3 million in November, then fell to 1.8 million in December, perhaps due to the inventory during the holiday season. Networks Battling For Web Traffic On TV Sites, ABC Leads The Pack [MDN]

NBC really wants you to watch "30 Rock"

Today in "We will do anything" the folks at NBC have come up with yet another way to stuff their shows down your throats. Mr. Bush, it's Alec Baldwin for you NBC's (GE) using VariTalk LLC to promote it's "30 Rock" TV show. The push includes a Web site where you can plug in some information and create a script to be read over the phone or delivered by e-mail from the show's Alec Baldwin. Mr. Bush, it's Alec Baldwin for you [Frank Barnako's Media Blog]

Live from New York, its SNL on your cell phone.....Yawn!

NBC has entered an exclusive deal with Cingular Wireless to bring the dieing SNL show to mobile phones. We're not sure however, if somone would really take time out of their life to stop and watch a clip on their phone of SNL. NBC, which recently launched a "Saturday Night Live" section on its Web site full of clips from the classic show, is producing some original "SNL" material to be streamed on Cingular phones, along with video clips from its archives and current episodes. In addition, the new offering will include content created by "SNL" specifically for mobile viewers. It also features an array of extras, including ringtones and graphics from "SNL." The product will be available to subscribers of Cingular's video service. Live From, Well, Just About Anywhere, It's 'Saturday Night' [MDN]

Media Quicky: NBC calls it like it is while other networks remain in denial

The folks at the peacock network seem to be swinging the biggest balls on TV. The network after what they call (much consultation over the weekend with colleagues, fellow journalists, historians, analysts and members of the military, both present and former) will now refer to the fighting in Iraq as "Civil War" However other networks are still sticking to what the Bush Admin insists on calling an insurgency MONDAY OUTLOOK [Daily Nightly]

CNBC blue balls us until December 4th

OK so maybe we are a little too excited about the up coming relaunch of the all new CNBC.com but so are the folks at NBC. The company has been running none stop ads on sister networks plugging the new launch as if it were some new movie from sibling company Universal Pictures. We have been praying for a redesign for over a year and finally Beth Comstock and company answered our prayers. we took a small tour of the new site and we have to say, we will be more frequent than usual when the site launches next Monday. CNBC.com

It all rests on the ablilities of Jeff Zucker

Will GE's French partners in NBC Universal sell their share in the struggling company, or will they hold on to it if the Zucker is named as the new head sooner than later? Last week Vivendi announced that they would look to unload their 20% stake in the media company. However they never said why or under what conditions. In January, Vivendi, a major NBC shareholder, will decide whether to exercise an option to sell as much as $3 billion worth of its 20 percent stake in NBC Universal back to its parent, General Electric. A move by Vivendi to hang on to its stake could be a sign of confidence in Zucker, who is likely to soon succeed NBC Chairman Bob Wright. But if Vivendi sells, it could signal concerns about the young executive's ability to put NBC back on track and lift its broadcast-TV network from the bottom of the ratings heap. Wouldn't it be a shock to us all if Jeff Zucker is passed over for the top job? ANXIOUS NBC AWAITS VIVENDI'S NEXT STEP [NYP]

Did anyone really want to work for Jeff Zucker anyway?

This week NBC Universal has seen two top execs exit the building to go be their own bosses and call their own shots, or something like that. First former NBC Universal TV Group President Randy Falco finally saw the writing on the wall that could not be erased and headed over to Time Warner to go after AOL CEO Jon Miller's job and got it. Now David Zaslav,president of NBC Universal cable and new-media distribution got the CEO bug and landed at Discovery Communications where he too will be his own man and call his own shots, or something like that. We won't even beat around the Bush on this one. These men just refuse to work for Jeff Zucker who is set to take over GE's NBC Universal. We don't expect the exits to stop either. Sources tell us that Randy Falco will be joined at AOL by some familiar faces real soon. NBC Exec Takes Discovery President-CEO Post[Adage]

Top 10 reasons Jeff Zucker got made

Jeff Zucker's rapid climb to the top of GE CEO Jeff Immelt's list to replace Bob Wright has been spat on, questioned, criticized, idolized and probed. OK we through the last one in, but we wouldn't be surprised if its true, anyway. Because of the Zuck's rapid climb and imminent take over of NBC Universal, we put together a top ten list of things Zuck may or may not have done to get where he is today. So without further adieu, the TOP10 reasons Jeff Zucker got to the top of the peacock. 10- He knew exactly how Bob Wright liked his coffee 09- He gave former GE big cat Jack Welch's shoes the best spit shine 08- He told Katie Couric to show more legs on air 07- he told Matt Lauer to give Katie the spotlight 06- He gave current GE big cat Jeff Immelt's shoes the best spit shine 05- He shares the same first name as his boss's boss 04- Under his watch NBC's ratings started to slide into the toilet 03- Just when they thought he was out, they pulled him right back in 02- NBC slipped further into the toilet 01- And the number one reason Jeff Zucker got to the top, showed no fear when swinging the ax to proof that he too can be a heartless corporate shit bag.

NBC 2.0: The blood bath continues at NBC, Jeff Zucker conveniently unreachable

Body parts are scattered all over the floor, blood spatter cover the walls, the sound of the axe swinging on one poor bastard after the other is sharp and clean, indicating no need for double swinging. This aint your usual slasher flick, it's just Jeff Zucker in a plastic suit, gloves and goggles slashing jobs as part of his initiation dubbed "NBC Universal 2.0" to proof he can handle the top job at NBC Universal. NBC News has begun carrying out layoffs that it said last month were coming as part of a corporate restructuring, affecting mostly off-camera workers on "Dateline NBC," "Today" and "NBC Nightly News."The only on-camera employees who have been laid off so far are "Dateline NBC" correspondents Edie Magnus and Rob Stafford, according to a network executive who spoke about personnel matters on condition of anonymity. At the news division, the job cuts are hitting hardest at the newsmagazine, which is producing fewer hours of prime-time programming than it used to. Between 15 and 20 "Dateline NBC" employees are losing their jobs, the official said. "Dateline" fluctuates between 150 and 200 employees, depending on its workload. We wouldn't want to see an NBC Universal 3.0 Job cuts begin at NBC News, Telemundo [AP]

Morning Wire: The price of Time, and more in the morning's worthy media news

$4.95 when we can read it on our next doctors visit Looks like things are getting a little desperate over at Time Inc's Time magazine as the company announced that it will cut the rate base from 3.25 million from 4 million and raise the cover price to $4.95 further keeping away people who don't really read it anyway. Time also said it will start relying on an "audience-selling model," a method it said television networks use to sell advertising, rather than a rate base. What? Zucker and company orders full round of show they were looking to cancel We're convinced that, someone or something has to suck for NBC Universal and/or NBC to either promote that person who sucks or order more episodes of that show that sucks. With that said the company has ordered a full season of the very sucky "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" after almost cancelling it. "I've never wavered in my belief in the show," NBC Entertainment president Kevin Reilly said. "With the talent we have in front and behind the camera and with the direction Aaron is taking the relationships, I think the show's passionate core audience will be excited, and the other viewers who sampled it can be won over." What about under the camera, over the camera, in the closet, out the closet? The daily News' KRISSY MAC is extremely happy Britney is back Britney Spears would be happy to know that she has a true fan in Daily Dish columnist Krissy Mac. We know some Brit fans and it was like "Whatever" when news broke that Brit was cutting Kevin Federline's feeding tube. But Krissy Mac on the other hand should probably run for President of the Britney Spears fan club. She starts with REJOICE! REJOICE! BRITNEY'S BACK! and then went on to say: I am gleeful. I feel like a proud mother whose child has finally learned how to count to 10... or how to tie her shoes... or how to take out the trash. Wonder if she had on her panties with little Britney faces on it? -Shomari Hines

Morning Wire: The industrial CEO, the media CEO and the meat/book store

GE boss bare's his bearishness on TV Who said Jeff Immelt, the CEO of NBC Universal parent GE didn't know anything about the TV business. The industrial exec in statements made during a townhall style meeting at CNBC's headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J. said: "I think primetime classic analog network business is going to have limited growth. There is no doubt about it," Here' a book to go with that steak Last Sunday the merchandise and books were coordinated with near-perfect precision. Resting beside a black sweater ($68) and a jet-black skirt with orange embellishments ($118) were copies of Annie Leibovitz’s “A Photographer’s Life: 1990-2005,” big and black and gleaming, for $75. A pop-up book called “One Red Dot” echoed a display of polka-dotted canvas sneakers, while another title, “The Persistence of Yellow,” perfectly matched a strategically positioned yellow knit sweater. Hell you can get movies with your coffee what not huh? Dick Parsons' man bag is a kit bag Coming out of his secure undisclosed location, Time Warner CEO Dick Parsons said that its best for the media giant to keep it's hands on AOL. “As I sometimes say, ‘Everywhere it rains, I want to have a bucket,’ ” Mr. Parsons said. “We need to have this in our kit bag because this is where money is going.” Hmmm! wonder what else is in the kit bag? -Shomari Hines

Mo Martha, Mo Martha, Mo Martha

Jeff Zucker and company has decided to give us another dose of Martha Stewart renewing the domestic diva's show for a third season. We are thrilled with Martha's strong return to daytime television and the overwhelmingly positive response we have received from our local broadcast partners and viewers," said Barry Wallach, president of NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution. "Martha's fresh and lively approach to how-to instruction, mixed with the show's live format, has been a winning combination from the start." Added executive producer Mark Burnett: "Thanks to NBC Universal and our station partners for showing such incredible support so early in this, our second season. We look forward to a third year of entertaining content, filled with great storytelling and how-to information that will make a difference in the daily lives of our viewers." Well put Mark. Martha Renewed for Third Season [Mediaweek]

NBC to test the Canadian waters

NBC's recent hit show which is prompting Jeff Zucker to go the non-scripted rout is about to get a run in Canada hopefully before a bust. Last June at their upfront in Toronto, CanWest Global executives invited Howie Mandel north to promote their pickup of his hit NBC game show Deal Or No Deal. Mandel went on stage at Massey Hall and played a mini version of Deal, improvising by using his hand as the dealer phone and choosing from among just four briefcase-toting models before giving a few thousand dollars away to ad industry insiders. This January, Mandel will be coming back to his native city to host the real Deal: Five all-Canadian editions of the Endemol game show. Global made the announcement yesterday and plan to air the episodes next spring. It's a Deal! [Toronto Sun]