Who will make it work? Bravo’s un-hot but wealthy lady chief, takes on Lifetime’s very hot and probably wealthy lady chief

By SDH One of them is clearly hotter than the other, but none of them are hotter than the mega cable hit “Project Runway”. But NBC Universal’s Bravo which has been airing the show, will lose it to rival cable net Lifetime. Now Bravo is suing Lifetime to block the show form moving to that network. But how did all this come about? Well Harvey Weinstein the CEO of The Weinstein Company which produces the show stuck it to Bravo Chief Lauren Zalaznick, who was recently lauded in a New York Times article, by doing a deal with Lifetime’s top skirt Andrea Wong even though Weinstein promised Bravo that it would have an opportunity to match any offer to purchase the rights to “Project Runway” So where will “Project Runway” end up? For now, the hot Andrea Wong is excited to add the show to her line up of network TV of the week movie re-runs. But Bravo and/or its parent company NBC Universal wont let it go without a fight. Both sides have put their legal eagles in action. Hey Lauren, if it’s worth going to court over, you should have gotten the clearance to pay what the Weinstein’s were asking for.

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

The new New Line + Disney's boys + NBC Uni to unload stations + Newspapers continue to fight for online love

The New New Line: After announcing that he will fold the legendary New Line into the even more Legendary Warner Bros Studios because he can, Jeff Bewkes has a new man in charge now at a more smaller and nimble New Line as other top execs wait around to be fired. Toby Emmerich has been named Prexy and Chief Operating Officer. Disney's Boys: Disney continues to corner the kiddie market with the announcement that they have entered a deal with teen sensations The Jonas Brothers to produce a new reality show based on their everyday life on tour and off. They sure know how to milk em don't they? NBC Universal To Unload Some Stations: In an attempt to leave smaller markets behind, NBC Universal says that it is selling two of it's many stations WTVJ in Miami and WVIT in Hartford, Connecticut. No word on how much the company will pocket after a sale but we're sure it won't be chump change. Newspapers continue their fight: In the never ending effort to remain relevant in these internet dominated times, a bunch of newspaper publishers are joining a new ad network called quadrantONE which helps newspaper publishers to capture money that advertisers are taking away from printed newspapers and moving online as they see more people spending their time on the Internet. These newspapers would sell their soul for ad dollars.

Hulu is the 62 inch HD LCD to Youtube’s 32 inch Plasma

BY SDH First off, make no mistake about it. Youtube is where you go for that raw in your face taking no shorts video clip to make you say Wow!, Holy Shit!, Damn! etc. It has set the blue print that many imitators are now trying to follow and some of them have failed, and more will fail. But we have to take our hats off to the guys at Hulu.com. If you haven't heard of Hulu, its because no major effort was really made for you to know about it, but we have no doubt that you will. Hulu.com is not another Youtube copy cat, where anyone with a digital recorder can upload clips whenever they want. You won't see clips removed from Hulu.com because it was uploaded illegally. You won’t see clips of Pilipino prisoners doing the thriller. What you get at Hulu are past episodes of your favorite shows that you may have missed like, "The Office" "24", belly busting SNL clips and full length movies delivered with crystal clear pictures and sound. We do admit that we doubted Hulu and even suggested that had no shot against Youtube. But the truth is Hulu is nothing like Youtube, at least not in our opinion. Once you visit Hulu.com, you're automatically forced to stay because it looks so damn appetizing. Now imagine if and when other networks join in with their content. Hulu will be unstoppable. Wow we can't believe we're saying all this nice stuff about NBC Universal and News Corp's joint venture. We usually give them shit but we know when to give credit when and where credit is due. We are officially putting on our "I'm a Hulu fan" hats and rooting for CEO Jason Kilar and his troops to knock one out the park. Wonder how long until Hulu rolls to it's real business model and start charging a monthly fee? *NBC Universal or News Corp or any of their subsidiaries did not pay us to say these nice things.

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]

Will we see a Bozooka Joe and Monopoly movie go head to head in theaters?

BY SDH Former Disney boss Mike Eisner is spinning the idea of a Bazooka Joe movie now that he has his claws into Topps Inc. But Eisner may have some competition now that NBC Universal may produce a Monopoly Movie through it's new pact with Hasbro, the make of the iconic board game. So could we see a summer where both movies go up against each other for the weekend blockbuster crown? Universal may have the upper hand due to its huge distribution capabilities and deep pockets for marketing. Eisner may opt for a 100% web release though.

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]

Rupert Murodoch's Fox Business network fell flat in its first months, but that’s normal for a new cable network or something like that

-SDH Would the suits at News Corp say that Fox Business News met their expectations or fell short of them? Rupert Murdoch's invasion of CNBC's turf may not have had the shock and awe we think some at News Corp thought it would. Fox Business News prime time averaged 15,000 viewers in the nine weeks through the week of December 16. Rupert Murdoch says he expects the network to reach 40 million U.S. homes in this year. But we doubt Rupe is worried about it. "The launch of any new cable network in this environment -- the numbers are going to be very small starting out, regardless of whether it's coming from a big media conglomerate or not," said Brad Adgate, senior vice president of research at Horizon Media, who tracks media trends. Fox Business draws few viewers in first months [Reuters]

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 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]

And now this morning's worth mentioning media business news

NBC Universal's new interactive ad service... yup another one NBC Universal agreed to start offering interactive advertising services and subscribe to a ratings service from TiVo Inc, the companies said on Tuesday. The agreement covers GE's 14 networks -- including NBC, Telemundo and Bravo -- as well as its 10 NBC-owned TV stations. MediaNews taps Topix to play mediator U.S. newspaper publisher MediaNews Group Inc has enlisted Topix.com to run the online forums and comments sections that people use to discuss articles they read in its papers, Topix said on Tuesday. 2008 may bring harm to some media segments The U.S. media industry is on the brink of a second downturn in a decade, one that could accelerate the divisions between fast-growing targeted advertising and traditional formats aimed at mass audiences. The Middle East continues to slowly take over America As if Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal owning a huge chunk of Citi Group wasn't enough, now Dubai International Capital LLC, the $13 billion fund manager whose investors include the emirate's ruler, bought shares in Sony Corp. in its first investment in a Japanese company. What next?

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]

And now this morning's worth mentioning media business news even if its turkey day eve

-YOSH Newspaper publisher's and editors who know shit about the Internet should all be scared as hell now. Former news anchor Tom Brokaw has predicted that a major newspaper could go all digital in about 10 years. Doesn't he sound like he knows the name of the paper that will go all digital but he doesn't want to say? [B&M] Jeff Zucker and company locks in Oxygen Network and makes Oprah even richer. Puts Bravo Media's manly looking chief, Lauren Zalaznick in charge of network. [Variety] Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin is said to be thisclose to seeing his dream of a merger with XM come to life. Employees on both sides brace for massive blood bath no doubt. [WSJ]

And now this morning's worth mentioning media business news

-YOSH Sumner Redstone's Williamsburg Brooklyn Connection Viacom is doing all it can to make sure it keeps it's feet planted in digital media. Thet dumped some cash into a new online network and in return they got 3 guys working out of media lab somewhere in Williamsburg Brooklyn producing digital shorts. But where does Viacom's digital Czar Mika Salmi fit into all this? Did he even have anything to do with this deal? NBC Universal continues to expand it's online presence doggystyle KNOWING that you can never underestimate people’s love for their cats and dogs, NBC Universal and Procter & Gamble have set up a Web portal that looks something like a Yahoo or AOL for pet owners, with a bit of Facebook and MySpace thrown in. The site, Petside.com, offers a full menu of information about dogs and cats, from the serious (how to diagnose your pet’s illnesses) to the silly (funny animal videos). There are links to shopping sites (like Petco.com) and articles about topics like what to do if visitors are allergic to your pet (hint: vacuum). Visitors are encouraged to set up social networking profiles in order to meet other pet owners. In London, Google Skype rumors running wild Is eBay tired of Skype, the online telephony firm already? According to the Guradian's 'The digital content blog" Google is in talks to take the company of eBay's hands for a nice chunk of cash no doubt.

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]

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]

New York Times' Ron Stodghill says Dick Parsons is being forced to stand down and more in this morning's not so worthy media news

The head of Merrill Lynch got canned and Dick Parsons is about to hand over control of Time Warner to Jeff Bewkes. Does this spell doom for black chief execs in America? [NYT] Ted Turner knows when to back down from a fight he can't win. The mouth of the south made nice with the world's biggest media mogul, Rupert Murdoch over lunch signaling the end of many years of back and forth insults. Good for you Teddy. [DHD] NBC Universal shutters yet another online failure. First it was NBCi, then NBBC , now its Dotcomedy.com which was basically like Viacom's thedailyshow.com. Dotcomedy.com ran clips of SNL but never gained any real traction. Could it be because SNL lost traction about 5 years ago? [MW] While getting roasted by colleagues, former bosses and friends, former NBCer turned AOLer Randy Falco said that AOL is worth fighting for. Um.....OK [B&C]

NBC Uni's Beth Comstock, loves the word viewsers, had the audience until she started that corporate lingo shit

NBC Universal's digital czarette Beth Comstock recently spoke at the AMC. Backed by a huge slide show, Comstock spit her views on the future and present of digital media. Rebecca L. Fox over at Fishbowlyny.com gives a run down on Comstock's presentation, and how she seemed to know what she was talking about even though she may have lost the audience when she got into her boardroom lingo. Though Comstock's talk of mantras and the breakdown she offered of different types of online viewsers dipped a bit far into corporate meeting-speak for us (life managers, info hounds and connectors, meet self-expressers, creators and escapists), the ultimate goal rang true for TV and magazine companies alike: "to know viewsers so well, we can serve content they don't even know they like yet ... [creating] a world where content follows the viewser. Our role is as concierge." AMC 2007: NBC Prez: Content Co.s Must Know Consumers 'Like We've Never Known Them Before' [FBNY]

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]

The potential fall guy: For Hulu.com boss Jason Kilar, it's make or break time

NBC Universal and News Corp's under hyped online media venture Hulu.com has secretly launched what they refer to as a test for select registered "Huluers". Despite all the negative yapping about the new venture, Hulu chief Jason Kilar is focused on making sure, the company doesn't live up to the negative predictions made across the web. But we all know, if it does indeed live up to the negativity, Kilar will no doubt go down in flames. Mr. Kilar says that although some of the same shows are also available free to viewers on sites like NBC.com and Fox.com, Hulu has a unique agenda: to marry the largest collection of professionally-produced video to the widest audience possible. “We don’t have to worry about showing TV schedules or letting fans get to know the actors,” he said. “All we have to worry about is the video.” Hulu Readies Its Online TV, Dodging the Insults [NYT]

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"