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Jeff Zucker Leaves NBC Universal in Shame

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After executing one colossal failure after another, Zucker finally steps down as chief executive of a struggling network.

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For the last few years, NBC (GE) has been the subject of many questions. Puzzlers like, "Who thought it was a good idea to put Leno on at 10:00 p.m. five nights a week?" and "What kind of network CEO would admit to being comfortable in last place?" and, as of last night's premiere of Outsourced, "Who in their right mind would allow this to air on their network?"

Well, the guilty party behind those colossal blunders and more has finally been dethroned. Announced in an email to employees, NBC Universal chief Jeff Zucker is stepping down from his position once Comcast's (CMCSA) takeover is completed. Adding to the poetic justice, it wasn't exactly his choice.

In an interview with the New York Times, Zucker confessed that the decision was made following a meeting with Comcast COO Steve Burke. "He made it clear that they wanted to move on at the close of the deal and I was completely comfortable with that," he said. Ever the optimist, Zucker maintained that he didn't detect "any particular reason" as to why Comcast wished to remove him as chief.

Hmm. Well, let's see.

President and CEO since 2007, Zucker oversaw a whopping decline in viewership during his tenure -- with prime-time programming losing to not only ABC (DIS), CBS (CBS), and Fox (NWS), but reruns on basic cable. He led NBC Universal's precipitous 28% fall in profitability between 2008 and 2009 and effectively destroyed the Tonight Show brand. In an op-ed by Maureen Dowd, an unnamed executive from another network referred to Zucker as "a case study in the most destructive media executive ever to exist."

But when asked to identify his biggest mistake, Zucker replied, "The thing I regret most is not moving quickly enough." This shouldn't be a worry, Jeff, seeing as how nearly every move you made was in the wrong direction.

However, two choices that Zucker made recently could have been a product of seeing the numbers from his CEO days -- because they were actually decent.

NBC Universal inked a deal with Netflix (NFLX) to increase its programming for the "Watch Instantly" streaming service. Besides the episodes of 30 Rock and Friday Night Lights, NBC is offering up every single episode of Saturday Night Live to be viewed with the service -- a tremendous boon to anyone raised on the likes of Belushi, Murphy, and Hartman.

Also, apparently sensing the mediocrity behind Apple's (AAPL) upcoming device, Zucker announced he doesn't see the worth in the Apple TV and its 99-cent price point. Although a shrewd decision, Zucker may have been following suit with Warner Bros. (TWX) and CBS also balking at the rental plan, which leaves a tough road ahead for Apple to beat Google (GOOG) TV and possibly even Boxee.

And considering Zucker barely knows how Hulu and media centers work, he probably just thought 99 cents was too cheap for episodes of Chase.

But two "broken clock" successes don't nearly make up for the years of mismanagement and monumental failures. NBC has suffered long enough under the choices Zucker has made and the consequences he's ignored. Although the prospect of Comcast owning a media network is more than a little frightening, here's hoping the company can rejuvenate the ailing brand into the Must-See channel it once was.

And if NBC needs any help, here are some tips I offered up last year.

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