Since NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Schell was abruptly fired Sunday, the company’s heirs have begun to settle into their jobs, at least for the time being.
Shell’s successor, Mike Cavanagh, president of Comcast, NBCUniversal’s parent company, traveled from Philadelphia this week to meet with dozens of executives at NBCUniversal’s 30 Rockefeller Plaza headquarters. Cavanagh also visited the set of the “Today” show, reached out to news anchors like Lester Holt, and met late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers.
But whether Mr. Cavanagh takes the job permanently or Comcast eventually selects someone else for the position, the new leader will be on a constant quest for future direction, including questions like: You will be in charge of a business that is subject to rumors and speculation.
Will Comcast CEO Brian Roberts merge NBCUniversal with another company?
Will Roberts pursue a sale or an outright acquisition of streaming service Hulu, which NBCUniversal jointly owns with Disney?
And will the NBC broadcast network give up its hour-long primetime line-up and hand it over to a local affiliate, or will it start negotiating broadcast rights for the National Basketball Association?
NBCUniversal is far from dire. It’s home to legendary institutions like Saturday Night Live and Today, as well as lucrative franchises like Despicable Me and Real Housewives. Last year, he had $39 billion in revenue, up 14% from the year before.
But the company also owns some cable networks like USA and Bravo that are bleeding viewers. His streaming service, Peacock, is growing fast, but has far fewer subscribers than many of its competitors, and he is expected to lose $3 billion this year.
These issues, which have been looming for months, have once again been brought to the forefront after Mr. Shell’s abrupt departure. Comcast said on Sunday that Shell was leaving the company following an investigation into complaints of “improper conduct.”
CNBC’s senior international correspondent Hadley Gamble’s departure came after he filed an internal complaint leveling accusations of sexual harassment and sexism, according to her attorney Suzanne McKee. says. After Gamble filed her complaint in late March, Comcast executives launched an investigation. On Monday, the company said in a filing that Schell was fired after an investigation corroborated allegations of sexual harassment.
Roberts and Cavanagh met with Shell at a Philadelphia law firm on Friday to tell Shell that he was being fired, two people familiar with the internal debate said publicly. Said it wasn’t allowed. .
Mr. Shell was taken aback by the sudden turn of events. In the days leading up to his dismissal, Trump had met with lawmakers in Washington, D.C., and had planned to attend Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ Club dinner, according to two people familiar with the matter. He hired her Risa Heller, a prominent crisis communications expert, and a prominent attorney.
Shell declined to comment on the circumstances of his resignation, but said in a statement that he was “deeply shaken by the amount of pain and embarrassment I have caused my family.”
“I am dedicated to making amends to them,” Shell said.
Comcast continues to investigate elements of Mr. Gamble’s allegations related to sexism, according to two people familiar with the investigation.
Comcast declined to comment on the investigation. Regarding the future of Comcast’s management team, a spokeswoman told The New York Times that she referred to Roberts’ remarks on Thursday’s first-quarter earnings call, calling Cavanagh “a great manager and operator.”
Since Shell’s departure, Roberts has tried to reassure investors. On Thursday’s earnings call, he released a brief statement supporting Mr. Cavanagh and his NBCUniversal executives. He praised his NBCUniversal veteran leadership and said that while Cavanagh would “take control” of the company, he would remain Comcast’s president after a “troublesome moment.”
Comcast shares rose about 10% after Thursday’s earnings report.
Roberts accompanied NBCUniversal’s executive committee in New York to show his support, according to three people familiar with the matter. During the meeting, Cavanagh reassured the assembled leaders that he would be there for the time being. Cavanagh is scheduled to head to Los Angeles next week to meet with West Coast executives.
There is consensus among NBCUniversal management that Shell’s departure will not have a significant short-term impact on the company’s television, film and news assets. Shell’s biggest decision required approval from Cavanagh and Roberts, who have the final say on major issues facing the company. “I don’t think the business will lose momentum,” Cavanagh said on the earnings call.
Even with Cavanagh at the helm, he is unlikely to relinquish responsibility for the broader Comcast empire as a whole, including its cable and wireless businesses.
Cavanagh is widely believed to be the most likely internal candidate to succeed Roberts. A full-time job doing just NBCUniversal is a relegation in a way. He is the only president in the company’s history that does not belong to the Roberts family that controls Comcast.
Still, some NBCUniversal executives believe the media property needs a dedicated leader. Not only are there too many decisions to be made in different businesses like theme parks, movie studios, and TV shows, but you also have to make more existential decisions to make it a part-time job.
Cavanagh believes Comcast has a stronger edge than many of its competitors in the media industry, including Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery. Profits from Comcast’s broadband and wireless businesses have somewhat shielded the company from the slump in advertising sales that has affected many of its peers, and provided the capital to invest in streaming.
NBCUniversal’s movie studio and theme park business is also growing on recent positives, such as the opening of Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios and the successful release of the Super Mario Bros. Movie. Comcast said on Thursday that its first-quarter profit increased slightly despite lower advertising revenue and slower growth in its broadband business.
Speculation swirled for months that Roberts and Cavanagh would spin off NBCUniversal. report They were considering a merger with video game studio Electronic Arts last year. Some analysts speculate that Roberts and Cavanagh are looking for another big deal as many of NBCUniversal’s rivals are teaming up to bolster their streaming businesses.
One potential target that analysts are discussing is Warner Bros. Discovery. This is a newly minted media giant created by the amalgamation of WarnerMedia, owners of HBO and Warner Bros. movie studios, and Discovery, owners of cable networks such as HGTV and TLC.
Craig Moffett, senior managing director of research firm SVB MoffettNathanson, said a deal like this would create enough of a burden to pay for any movie or TV show that gets enough subscribers to monetize the service. said it could be given to the combined company. “But most Comcast investors hate the idea,” he added.
“Mike will inevitably leave a mark on the business,” Moffett said, “which in this case necessarily means some role in a merger or acquisition or sale.”
